


Castle of Glass

by JulianGreystoke



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Battle, Danger, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Healing, Kita - Freeform, Romance, Season 2, War, Waterbender, watertribe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 11:25:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2545823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JulianGreystoke/pseuds/JulianGreystoke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This takes place during season 2<br/>Bolin is feeling alone and ignored in the Southern Watertribe.  Can a spunky waterbender girl turn his day around?  With war brewing will their romance be cut painfully short?</p><p>Note: this starts out as a fluffy romance and then gets quite serious, with violence and war.  The best of both world really.  ;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

Castle of Glass  
Part 1

Bolin was following smells. He was alone again. His brother was with Korra, doing something official, he wasn't certain what. It wasn't really his business. His new girlfriend, Eska...well, to be honest, he was avoiding her. He still had bruises from their last date when she had insisted on showing off her ice bending powers by bouncing him several feet into the air. Honestly it had not been too bad, but he wasn't in a hurry for a repeat performance. He smiled wanly at the memory as he strolled from shop to shop, tugging the collar of his coat higher to keep out the chill wind. Pabu was sleeping in a special pocket inside Bolin's winter-wear, and he was glad of his furry friend's added warmth. He wasn't used to the frigid temperatures there at the South Pole.

He paused in front of a pottery shop to sniff the air again, trying to locate the origin of a particularly intriguing odor of noodles. He had always loved Southern Watertribe dishes.

“KITA!” a shout caught his attention. Bolin did not have time to wonder what a “Kita” was as someone slammed into him full force and knocked him into the snow.

“Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!” the young woman, who was now sprawled beside him on the cold ground, spluttered. The snow gathered beneath her and pushed her gently to her feet. She didn't stop to brush off the front of her water-tribe attire, or to help him up. Instead she shot him an impish grin and darted away down the street, then between two buildings. Moments later, before Bolin was able to fully collect himself, a man rushed out the way the girl had come, scowling up and down the street.

The man, also dressed in Southern garb of blue and grey, looked down at the earthbender in the snow and his eyes widened. “Did my daughter...?” he didn't finish. He didn't need to. Instead he held out a hand and pulled Bolin to his feet. “I'm sorry. Kita is a trouble maker. She's always running off, shirking her duties. Are you alright, young sir?”

Bolin brushed snow from the front of his coat, feeling Pabu inside, wriggling with displeasure at nearly being crushed when his master had fallen. “I'm fine,” Bolin waved a dismissive hand, smiling broadly. And he was. The snow of the street was packed hard, but it was still far better to fall onto than the stone streets of Republic City.

“Ah, good, I'm glad,” said the man, also smiling, though his was thin. He had a day's growth of stubble on his broad jaw and was wearing a shop-keeper's apron, Bolin noticed. “My name is Torq. This is my shop,” he gestured to the pottery store with another weak smile. “Feel free to stop in any time for the finest pottery in the Southern Water Tribe.”

“I will,” said Bolin, wondering how he could walk away without seeming rude. A few of the people in the street had recognized him as a friend of the Avatar and some of the children were pointing. Normally Bolin relished attention, but he had been trying to keep a low profile. No sense in getting Eska's attention before he was ready for her. He noticed that Torq with still looking up and down the street with annoyance on his features. “Hey, how about I find your daughter for you? I'll send her right back.” Bolin offered hastily.

“Would you?” the man seemed cheered. “I can't leave my store to look for her, and she had chores.”

“You can count on me!” Bolin stood straight, giving an exaggerated salute. He spun on his heel and marched comically away in the direction he had seen the girl run. He wasn't certain he would be able to find her. A waterbender in a city of ice? That would be like finding a needle in a haystack without metalbending. He rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he could go back to following those smells. The alley the girl, Kita, had gone down, was empty, so he followed it onward. He idly wondered what Korra and Mako were doing. Korra had insisted on separating herself from her old teacher, Tenzin, and if he was honest with himself, Bolin missed the old airbender. He wasn't entirely certain that Korra had been right to send her mentor away, even as more and more weight with piled onto her shoulders. He silently still wished he could help bear the weight with her. The sting of her rejection was will a fresh wound, though he would never show it.

So lost in thought was Bolin that he hadn't realized he was walking out of the main thoroughfare and into a park. The frosted trees, which were sculpted from ice (not much grew this far south) shimmering in the sunlight. A hot spring simmered quietly nearby, with some thin foliage grappling for a foothold on life, growing beside it. Then Bolin caught motion out of the corner of his eyes and was awoken from his reverie. It was the quickest darting of blue against the white and rock. “Hey,” he called, experimentally. “Come back, please!”

“Why?”

Bolin looked up to see a young woman standing on top of a large rock beside the hot spring. He was tempted to gently tip her from the rock with his earthbending, but he resisted. “Are you Kita?” he asked instead.

The girl had the look of many members of the Southern Water Tribe. Darkly tan skin,long hair so brown it was almost black. The rounded face with prominent nose and high cheekbones. Her eyes shimmered bright blue as she glared at him. His eyes took in her slim, lithe figure. He couldn't help it. He was only a man after all. She looked whippy and muscular, as many female waterbenders did. Her expression was sour, and her arms were folded across her chest. “Did my father send you to come get me?” she growled.

“Well, yes,” Bolin admitted, stepping closer. “He said you have chores.”

“Of course I have chores. I always have chores. Which is why I have to sneak away. If he ever gave me a break I wouldn't have to. I'm supposed to meet with my waterbending teacher in a hour, but I just couldn't stand to be around that shop for one more minute. If you want me to go back, you're going to have to make one hell of a convincing argument.” she bent her knees, raising her hands, slender fingers spread. Water from the hot spring burbled up towards her.

Bolin eyed the hot water nervously. His own muscles tensed, but he did not take up a fighting stance. Instead he adopted an overly casual one. “Hey, your father may have sent me, but it's no skin off my back of you actually make it back to him. Not like he's paying me or anything.”

He was pleased to see her relax, the water slithering back into place in the pool. He tried not to show the relief he felt. This was easy enough. He was good at hiding his emotions when he needed to. Most people thought he wore his feelings on his sleeve, and it was true, sometimes they did get the better of him, but such slips were growing less and less frequent. He fixed the girl with an interested stare. “So you train with a waterbender?”

“In secret,” the girl grumbled, sitting down, cross legged on her rock. “My father won't even let me do that. He doesn't know that I still do. After my mother died he stopped my training and insisted I only use my waterbending to help in the shop. I make the inventory, you know? All those clay vases. I use waterbending to make them.”

Bolin was impressed, and this he let show on his face. “You do?”

“My mother used to,” said Kita, still looking grumpy. “But now I have to, and it is driving me insane. So I escape.”

“I see,” Bolin said, smiling at her in a friendly manner. “My name is Bolin, by the way,” he widened his stance, and with a tugging motion of his arm, and he tipped the girl off of the rock. Her reflexes were quick, and snow swirled up to meet her and bring her gently to the ground. She folded her arms again, but Bolin could see an eager smile twitching her lips.

“Bolin, huh?” she tried to sound disdainful as she looked him up and down, her arms still folded. Then her eyes got very wide and a huge grin broke past her defenses. “So you're a fire-ferret!?”

Bolin was a little surprised. Not many people in the tribe even knew about pro bending. He puffed out his chest, “Why yes I am,” he said.

“Not you, him,” Kita pointed to Pabu, who had stuck his head out from Bolin's collar.

Suddenly something small and white plummeted down from the sky with a thin shriek and struck at Bolin's chest. Kita gasped and jumped, attempting to catch the creature as it circled around to attack again. Bolin was completely taken off guard, blinking confusedly as the thing came around, small talons spread, towards him.

Before the mystery attacker could strike again Kita had snatched it from the air, clamping both hands around a struggling and squeaking bundle of white feathers and fur. “Prin! No! We do not eat fire-ferrets! That's is very naughty! Don't make he freeze you into an ice cube!” she warned.

The little creature stopped struggling and glared at the lump that was Pabu, hiding in Bolin's coat again. “I'm so sorry,” Kita gasped, exasperatedly. “What a naughty creature you are, Prin!”

“What is that?” asked Bolin, intrigued.

“Owl-bat,” Kita held up her pet for Bolin to see. It had the body and white feathers of a miniature snowy owl. It glared with huge, yellow eyes and clacked a hooked beak. Two, cupped, bat ears stuck out of the feathers on its head, and instead of bird wings, membranous bat wings were trapped beneath Kita's thumbs. “She usually isn't so rude. She just saw your fire-ferret as food.”

Kita held the owl-bat in one hand, then reached into a pocket and pulled out some thin, leather straps. She looped one over the creature's leg, pulling it tight, and hooked the other end to a buckle on her glove. Then she held out her arm and perched Prin on it. The creature made a happy chirp and sidled up Kita's arm and nuzzled her cheek. “Sorry, again,” she smiled at Bolin.

“She's really cute!” Bolin announced. He loved animals. He would have asked to hold Prin, were he not worried how Pabu might react.

“You're an earthbender?” Kita asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

“I am indeed,” Bolin struck a pose. He could never resist showing off. With ease he lifted the rock Kita had been perched upon, out of the snow, moved it several feet, and set it down with a heavy thud. Displaced snow showered them. Well, it showered him. Kita redirected the snow which would have struck her onto him as well. She laughed, hiding her mouth behind her hand. Bolin was struck by her laugh. Uneven and little silly sounding, but so true. Her eyes shimmered when she laughed and Bolin felt himself blushing. He deflected by grabbing two sticks and pretending to be a snow man, which only made her laugh harder. She was in fits when he earthbent some small stones up to be his smiling snowman face. She held her sides, doubled over. Bolin felt his blush deepen, and he admonished himself. He had a girlfriend.

Kita straighten, tears of mirth in her eyes. Her cheeks were also red, though from merriment, Bolin knew. Kita held out her arms and with a swift, downward motion, she had stripped the snow from Bolin and left him feeling dry and warm. “I've never trained with another type of bender before,” Kita admitted, her expression eager. “Want to?”

“Sure,” Bolin answered before he could even think about whether this was a good idea. Soon the two of them were comparing technique and practicing variations of moves they both knew.

Kita tried the wider, more grounded stance Bolin had showed her. When she changed the snow around her into water it gushed in a large, uncontrolled wave. Kita barely managed to deflected it from hitting her new friend. “Oops,” he chuckled. “It seems like I am always trying to soak you today.”

“You're not?” Bolin asked. He stood more lightly, holding out his arms and moving them in a jerky attempted at fluid motion.

“No. Here,” Kita walked over and stood behind him, arranging his arms. She even reached forward and covered his hands with hers, positioning his fingers. “You move too firmly. Flow. Like the river,” she said. She guided his arms. Instead of lifting a rock, or even small stones, a fine silt of earth rose up from under the snow. Like dust. It clung together in a stream, almost like a water whip.

“Cool,” Bolin managed. He was blushing again, feeling her arms around his shoulders, guiding his hands. He was glad she was behind him and could not see. He let her guide him, turning his hands palm up to make the thin stream of earth rise, then palm down again to bring it gently to the snow, leaving a swirling pattern where it landed.

“Okay, that was cool!” Kita crowed, clapping Bolin on the back. Prin peeped appreciatively at her master's happiness.

Bolin turned and gave her a big, lopsided grin. “No kidding! I don't know why I never tried this before! Water and earthbending styles work pretty well together. I wonder if I could use any of that in my pro bending.”

“Pro bending?” Kita cocked her head, her dark hair falling over one eye.

Bolin had to keep himself from exclaiming how cute she looked in that moment. He was done wearing his heart on his sleeve. “I'm not only the owner of a fire-ferret, I'm a member the of the probending team called The Fire-Ferrets.”

“I've heard of pro bending,” Kita said, leaning up onto her toes in her excitement. Her face was close to his and he backed up a step, nervous. “I've always dreamed of leaving this village and going to Republic City to see pro bending. Well, that, and everything else Republic City has to offer. I just want to get out of here,” she said, her expression fierce.

“Doesn't you dad need your help in his store?” Bolin questioned, pulling a rock over with his bending and sitting down. Kita plopped casually down beside him. He wasn't used to girls being so easygoing around him. Korra had been, and look where that had gotten him. He scooted away fractionally. He was going to be more guarded this time.

“I don't care about the stupid store!” Kita announced. “That was my parents' dream. I'm a different person. I've got to be free. I'm like an otter-gull. I gotta swim and fly,” she spread her arms for emphasis. “So, Bolin, teach me some pro bending moves?”

“Er, sure,” he said, standing up, a little thrown by her hasty change of subject.

Kita dropped her hands, which had been poised for waterbending. She glanced towards the sky. “Oh, wait. I'm late for my waterbending lesson with Mihra, the village healer. My mother wanted me to be a healer, so she had me taking lessons with Mihra. Mom and Mihra have taught me basically everything I know,” she smiled thinly. “Which isn't much.”

“Seems like you're a really good waterbender to me,” Bolin said, before he could stop himself.

Kita grinned, wide and crooked, just like he did. “So I'll see you around, Bolin?” she asked, as she turned to walk away.

“Sure, of course,” he spluttered. What happened to playing coy? Her eyes, that's what happened. He quickly looked at his hands, then back up. She was gone.

Here's some pics of Bolin and Kita!

 


	2. Part 2

Part 2

Kita let her father's words wash over her like a wave. She was used to them. “Lazy. Irresponsible. What would your mother think?”

She sat down at the pottery wheel as he continued to rant. Gently she bent some water from the basin beside her and infused it into the lump of clay on the wheel with practiced motions. She started the wheel turning with a few pumps of the foot peddle and held her hands over the rotating lump. The red clay formed and swirled as she manipulated the water within it.

“Kita, are you listening?!” her father snapped, coming to stand in front of the wheel.

She stared so intently at her clay creation in progress that she thought she might give herself a headache. The muscles in her hands grew tighter. Too tight. She crushed the clay, muddy water spurting free and splashing her clothes, and her father's. He wiped the front of his apron with a rag and glared. “Honestly, Kita? Is it really so bad? So horrible to work here? This is your home, where your family lives. Where your mother grew up. Your art is beautiful, the talk of the village, why are you so unhappy?”

Kita slammed her palms down on the pottery wheel, squeezing the remaining clay between her fingers. It felt good. Cathartic. “Maybe I want a little bit more than this, dad,” she said, still not meet his gaze. They were talking in circles. They'd been here before, so many times she felt like she was reciting from a script. “I'm a waterbender. I have more to offer than just making vases and sculptures. I met a pro bender the other day. I could go pro dad! How cool would that be?”

Her father raised an eyebrow at this deviation from her normal rebuttal. “Pro bender?”

“Yes! I could make money bending, dad! How awesome would that be?”

“In Republic City?”

“Of course in Republic City. Where'd you think?”

“I just don't understand your obsession with the city. I've been there. It's dirty and dangerous. I am certainly not sending my only daughter, alone, into that place. You could end up robbed...or worse.” He folded his arms.

“I'd be careful,” she pouted. It was no use, of course. None of it would ever change his mind. She had turned 17 (the traditional age of adulthood) almost half a year ago, and he her father had treated it like any other birthday. She had hoped that maybe he would finally see that she was old enough to be free.

Prin fluttered down from her perch on the wall, plopping down onto her master's shoulder, she nuzzled Kita's cheek.

The bell in the front of the shop jingled to indicate that someone had come in. Kita's father called out, in his best salesman voice, “I'll be right there!” He turned to his daughter, “Kita, do you mind?”

She sighed, then raised a hand and swept it downward, pulling the damp clay from her father's clothes. She sailed the muck over to spiral above her hand, which he swirled in lazy motions. “Go,” she said, indicating the door from the back room to the shop proper with her eyes.

“This discussion isn't over,” Torq wagged a finger at her and strode out to greet the customers.

Kita guided the clay swirling above her hand to rejoin the mangled lump on the pottery wheel. She was about to set it spinning again with a sigh, when her father called to her. His voice barely disguising annoyance. “Kita. The customer is asking for you.”

She stood, forgetting to clean the damp clay from her own clothes. She opened the door into the shop and the light from the front windows blinded her for a moment, but Prin leaped from her shoulder with a greedy squeak. “Prin, no!” she scolded the owl-bat, but it was too late.

“Hello, Prin,” a familiar voice said. She blinked a few times and saw Bolin had been ready, and caught the little creature before Prin could make another attempt to eat Pabu. The fire-ferret had his head sticking out from the earthbender's collar and was hissing at Prin, who made annoyed peeping sounds in response.

“Bolin!” Kita smiled, then realized that she was still covered in clay. Her cheeks went red and she hastily waved her hands, swiping the grime from her and guiding it to a waste basket.

“Hey!” he looked so happy to see her. His bright, green eyes shone with merriment. She liked the way he smiled. So wide and unashamed. Most people guarded their smiles, but Bolin's seemed to be full and earnest. She couldn't help but smile back.

“Is this the pro bender?” her father raised an eyebrow. He didn't look pleased to see Bolin. “I sent this young man to find you the other day and I assumed he had failed.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Bolin looked sheepish as he walked across the room and handed Prin back to Kita. “We, uh, got to talking and I forgot.”

“Mmmhmm,” Torq rolled his eyes. He'd had to fend more than one young man off of his daughter. This was nothing new. “So, can I help you? All of these pieces are for sale.” he gestured to a display of elegant clay vases and bowls.

Bolin made a show of examining several of the items, hand to chin, an exaggerated scrutinizing squint on his face. Kita stifled a giggle as she watched. After a moment she spoke up. “Want to see how I make them?” She asked.

Bolin looked at her and she was again startled by his eyes. Emerald green. She had to look away quickly. “You bet I would!” he said.

She gestured to the back room, following him in. She watched him take in the unfinished, or less than perfect, pieces house there. The room was spare, with wooden shelves along all the walls holding projects and supplies. There were the table and chairs where she and her father usually ate lunch, and her pottery wheel. The half formed blob she had been working on was still there. A hunk of potential, waiting. Even though she had grown to hate the work, she was eager to show off. She rushed to her little stool, sitting down and spreading her fingers on either side of the would-be creation. She made sure Bolin was watching her. He was, and she almost giggled again at how eager and interested he looked.

She started the wheel spinning and formed the clay with her waterbending. It smoothed, rippled, swayed. She glanced up to see Bolin watching as though this was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. She almost lost her concentration, the clay bubbled slightly and she nearly pulled the water out of it. It was a delicate balancing act to keep the water and clay united so she could control it.

“It's like you're an earthbender,” Bolin said, stepped closer and leaning down to watch. A little splash of clay came free and hit his nose. He stood back, blinking.

Kita laughed. She couldn't contain herself. Her father was a serious stick-in-the-mud, but Kita had an easy laugh that was always coming out at awkward moments. “I'm sorry,” she managed, covering her mouth with her hands, as though he might not guess she was laughing if she hid her smile.

Bolin raised a thick eyebrow, then flicked a finger. A small blob of clay flew from her work and slashed her cheek, leaving what she could only assume was a reddish streak. Her mouth quirked into an impish grin. One that most people knew meant trouble. This Bolin didn't understand what he had unleashed.

Torq poked his head into the back room to check on his daughter and her male friend. His brows came together and a severe scowl. Both the young people were covered in splashes of clay. Kita's creation was once again a humble blob on her pottery wheel. “Kita!” he snapped.

Her head popped up from behind the chair she had been using as cover. Her face and hair were streaked with clay. She caught sight of her father's expression and wished she could vanish behind the chair again. “Yes, daddy?” she said in her most innocent voice.

Bolin caught sight of the shop keeper and snapped to attention, bobbing am apologetic bow as clay dripped from his hair. “I'm sorry sir. We'll clean it up right away!”

Before Kita could rise from behind her chair Bolin had his hands spread, gathering the clay from his own clothes, and hers. It floated towards him and formed a ball between his hands. Then an idea struck Kita. “Bolin! Put the clay back on the wheel!” She rushed to her little stool again, righting it, as they had knocked it over in their play.

The earthbender lowered the ball he had created to rejoin the blob still on the wheel. Kita glanced at her father, who was watching with his same, stern expression. The bell chimed again and Torq unwillingly went back to greet the new customers.

“Alright,” Kita raised her hands to the clay. She nodded to Bolin, indicating that he should put his hands around the over side of the blob. She started the wheel spinning and began bending. Bolin understood without instruction, trying to match her smooth, precise movements and he earthbent. He stuck out his tongue in his concentration, which almost made Kita lose hers. He was cute. Really cute. She bit down on her bottom lip. Maybe she should ask him-

“Bolin,” Kita's father called from the store.

Bolin took his hands away and Kita stopped spinning the wheel. Their creation was odd, but somehow beautiful. Unplanned and intriguing, which was how she might describe her feelings about the young earthbender at the moment. Bolin took in their sculpture. “Not bad for my first art project ever.” he smiled broadly.

“You never made art in school?” Kita asked, squinting at their creation, wondering if she should change this or that. Bolin didn't answer and she glanced up to see a sad look on his face. It had no place there. His features seemed unused to the expression. Like a dark cloud on a previously sunny day.

“I had better see what your father wants,” Bolin jabbed a thumb towards the shop. “He already doesn't like me.”

“He doesn't like anybody,” Kita joked, hoping to bring back Bolin's happiness. Upset that she might have chased it away.

Bolin walked to the door, sticking his head through with a cheery, “yes sir?” There was a pause, and she saw his muscles tighten. “Eska. What are you-?”

A female voice came next. Flat and dower. “Bolin. I believe I made it clear you were to wait for me outside the weapon shop. When I emerged you were not there. This is unacceptable.”

“Yes, dear,” Bolin replied.

Kita tensed. 'Dear'? Girl friend? Bolin walked out into the shop and she followed slowly. Her eyes widened as she took in the two people standing in her family store. The twins, Desna and Eska. The children of the tribal leader from the North. Practically royalty. And Bolin was...she saw Eska's hand clamped around his. Bolin looked very tense, catching Kita's eye a blush rushed back to his cheeks.

Kita's father seemed pleased. He clasped his hands. “Would my illustrious visitors like to take a moment to enjoy my shop? All these fine pieces are hand made right here. One of a kind, each one!”

Made by slave labor, Kita though grumpily, her good mood thoroughly stomped to death. She watched Bolin, who was now avoiding her eyes, his hand still firmly held in Eska's. Was she is type? So...blank. Kita sighed. Go figure. She usually fell for unattainable guys. Granted, her father personally intimated most of her boyfriends away, but she liked to think she fell for the unattainable guy. That's what girls were supposed to do, right?

“Come, Bolin. I have purchases I wish you to buy for me,” Eska pronounced, coldly.

Bolin allowed himself to be led out the door. At the last moment he glanced back over his shoulder. “Bye, Kita,” he called, weakly.

“B-bye,” she raised her hand in a half-wave, then let it fall dejectedly back to her side. Well, that was a disappointment. But what had she been expecting? That the friendly, likeable earthbender would be unattached? She shook her head and walked back to the art room. She caught a glimpse of her father's pleased expression and wished she could splash it with clay.

She stood, examining the thing that she and Bolin had created together. She raised her hands over it, ready to push it back down into a virgin lump of clay once again. But she couldn't. Instead she took a thin board from the floor beside the wheel and slid it under their creation. Then she carried it to the back of the room and opened the door to the steps to their house, which was above the shop.

In her room she set it on her nightstand. Then, with a practiced motion, she pulled much of the water from the sculpture, hardening it. Firing it in their kiln would have been better, but this wasn't for selling. This was for keeping. She sighed, sitting on her bed and glancing at her window. Prin fluttered from her shoulder to her perch and began preening quietly. Soon Kita would escape for her waterbending lesson, but for the moment she sat, watching the cloudless sky through her window, not certain why she felt so melancholy.

Dual Bending:


	3. Part 3

Part 3

Bolin rocked back on his heels, examining his handy work. The sandstone had been hard to get his hands on, but he wanted to do this project right. Stacked together before him sat five, wheel shaped pieces of sandstone. They looked like thick dinner plates with a square hole in the middle. Not perfect, but they would do, he thought with a smile. He stepped back. Spreading his feet shoulder length apart, he bounced lightly a few times, arms tucked in a boxer's pose. Then, with two, practiced, punching motions, he sent his creations smashing against a nearby wall. He nodded with satisfaction at the way they hit and crumpled apart. Then he began gathering them back together with a sweep of his hands, up and around his head.

“Bolin?” Kita's voice sounded surprised and confused. “What are you doing here?”

He turned, a wide smile already on his face. “Stalking you.” This was intended as a joke, but Kita cocked an eyebrow. Bolin backpedaled hastily. “No, I mean...I know you cut through the park on your way to your waterbending lessons. So I made a surprise,” he stood aside so she could see his creations.

Kita tilted her head, her hair falling over her eye again. Bolin managed to contain his blush as he was once again struck by how cute she was. He explained, “They're for pro bending! Not regulation, but they'll work. I even made them a little more breakable than the ones we normally use because we don't have any gear to protect us.”

“Oh my gosh!” Kita's eyes got very wide and bright. “Bolin, this is great! I am totally skipping my waterbending lesson today! Teach me everything!”

Half an hour of instruction later found Kita and Bolin facing off in a match against each other. They had found an open area in the park which was about the correct size to be an arena. Kita's was clumsy at first. Bolin did his best to instruct her. He went easy, lobbing slow shots towards her which she could practice dodging or knocking in the air using water. She hastily bent the snow around her into ammunition, trying her best. Her waterwhip stopped short of Bolin for the third time in a row and Kita growled in frustration. “Ugh! I can't get this! I'm no good at this kind of bending! If only my father would have let me train with a different teacher than Mihra!” Her hands were balled into fists at her sides.

“It's okay,” Bolin assured her. “It takes a while to get the hang of it.”

“Are you sure I'm not allowed to use ice?” Kita questioned. “I'm better with ice.”

“You want to hurt me?” Bolin asked, his mouth quirking into a lopsided smile.

“I'd be careful,” he could tell Kita's tone was joking as she looked mutinously at a gush of water she had raised to hover in front of her.

“Try widening your stance,” Bolin suggested. “Here.” He strode across to her and before he had the chance to think better of it he had positioned himself behind her, arranging her legs with a nudge of his foot, and posing her arms. He removed his hands from her wrists with a jerk, startled at himself for his forwardness. What happened to being guarded? He had a girlfriend. Kita knew he had a girlfriend. So what was he doing? He wasn't sure what to do with his hands for a panicked moment. Putting them on his hips seemed too aggressive, folding them across his chest seemed too guarded. He finally clasped them tightly behind his back. He knew his cheeks were the color of Pabu's fur. He wished the fire-ferret was there. He could deflect from his own awkwardness with the cute animal. He had left Pabu with Mako because he didn't want to tempt Prin.

Kita was laughing at him. Bolin met her gaze and saw how her smile wrinkled the corners of her eyes. His lips twitched, wanting to smile as well. Instead he contained himself. “An old mentor of mine gave me some earthbending advice. It might work for you.”

“Tell me,” Kita insisted eagerly.

“Alright,” Bolin moved to stand beside her and she copied his stance. “Every shot should come from your whole body. If you use only your arm or leg you lose control and power. Look,” he demonstrated by punching with his arm alone. The stone he bent still flew, but only chipped when it hit a tree, deflecting off. “He told me that your power comes from the earth. Draw that energy up from the earth, through your legs, your torso, into your arm.” he demonstrated again, careful to make his motions exaggerated so she could see them. “I imagine a light traveling through me from the earth to my hand.” The stone disk he picked up this time shattered when it hit the tree. “See?”

“Yeah,” Kita looked focused, squinting at the tree he had struck. She mimicked his motions. This time her water whip snapped out and struck the tree with a resounding 'thwack'. “Good!” Bolin cheered.

“Yes!” Kita pumped her fist. She held out her hand for a high five.

Bolin hesitated, then slapped his palm against hers. Her good mood was too damn infectious. And really, what had he been expecting? If he had really wanted to avoid Kita, this was the opposite of how to do it. Making pro bending disks and meeting her in her favorite park. Those sounded like the actions of someone who was interested in a girl. Not someone being careful to keep his emotions to himself. What would Mako say? Bolin wondered as he walked back across the field to try their match again. He hadn't told his brother or Korra about Kita. It felt like he would jinx it if he did. Like their knowledge of her would make her vanish like smoke. Besides, Mako and Korra might shame him for seeing someone else while he was still technically dating Eska. The leech. He shuddered when he thought of her.

“Ready?” Kita asked, an expression like an eager cat-moose on her features.

“Bring it!” Bolin said, shoving aside his previous thoughts.

Kita did better. Her shots were still slow and clumsy, but they no longer stopped short of reaching him. She even scored a few hits that he wasn't expecting. He ramped up his game as well, though he was careful not to hit her too hard with his home-made disks. Bolin was beginning to work up a sweat. “Hold on,” he raised a hand and she stopped, the water she had been launching his way, pausing. He watched, impressed, as she pinwheeled her arms, then twisted her torso, causing the water to come back to her and swirl around her before she spread her fingers, palms down, and motioned towards the snow, causing the water to fall around her. Damn. She might not be the best fighter, but she had excellent control. He suspected that came from years of working with the pottery. A very precise task.

Bolin was almost distracted from the reason he had stopped the match. Then he remembered, unbuttoning his coat and pulling it off, watching out of the corner of his eye to see if she was noticing. Though his shirt was long sleeved, it still showed off his muscular form. People tended to think he was overweight. A side effect of normally wearing baggy attire and frequently standing near lanky Mako. And the pro bending uniforms were flattering to very few. Korra had looked good, but she looked good in anything. Rather than feeling the usual rush of guilty heat that normally came with thoughts of Korra, he felt annoyed this time. Annoyed that she was always so good at everything.

As Bolin slid the coat from him his right shoulder twinged. The cold made it stiff these days. Ever since he'd hurt it in the arena. Korra had mended it, but it had never been quite the same. He ignored this, turning back to his opponent. His eyes widened. She had shed her coat as well, and he was treated to a view of her own figure. Her shirt, like his, was less than flattering, but better than a bulky coat. He took a moment to appreciate her slender, muscular frame.

“Ready?” she bounced on the balls of her feet.

Bolin reformed the sandstone into disks again, positioning them around him. “Oh yeah!” he said, a cocky smile on his lips.

Kita was much improved this round. Bolin had to work to dodge her blows. Even in the cold, sweat beaded on his brow. He was having fun too. They laughed often. Sometimes Kita's attacks still went awry and they both stopped for a good chuckle. Once she accidentally soaked poor Prin, who hooted angrily and demanded that Kita stop and dry her off. Bolin held his sides as he laughed, watching Prin flutter angrily towards her owner, pecking Kita's hand as punishment for the dampening.

Then the match was on again. Bolin got a few good shots, forcing Kita back to the third zone, which they had sketched in the snow. Then she spun, her feet dancing lightly, and Bolin dodged the water he guessed was coming on his left. Instead it hit his right shoulder like a punch. Too much force because he had stepped into it. Pain sliced up his arm. He made a sound that he wasn't proud of, clasping his shoulder and falling to a knee.

~~~~

Kita stopped, hands still raised. Her heart gave a tight twinge as she heard Bolin gasp and saw him go down. She rushed towards him, the water she had raised around her, flew clumsily back to the ground. “Bolin!” she called, reaching him. She slid to her knees in the snow, coming up beside him His head was still lowered so she couldn't see his face. “I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?! I shouldn't have tried that trick shot I came up with! Oh man!” her words tumbled from her lips like water over a fall.

He finally looked at her, and he was smiling, if tightly. “That trick shot worked really well,” he said, though his teeth were clenched. “You should teach me.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, her tone still urgent. Without thinking she guided him to stand, then walk to a nearby rock to sit.

“Yeah,” he said. He was trying to act tough, but she could see how tense his muscles still were. “It's an old injury. I guess it never quite healed right.”

“May I?” she hovered her hands over his shoulder, water already coiling around her fingers, ready to be used for healing.

“Yeah, of course,” Bolin took his hand away, watching her with his startling eyes. They made it hard for her to focus. She chewed her lip, resting her fingertips against his shoulder. She made herself close her eyes for a moment, sensing.

“What are you doing?” Bolin asked, his voice quiet.

“Who healed this?” Kita asked, her brows coming together over her closed eyes. “This was shoddy work. Your shoulder was dislocated and put back in place, but no one repaired the torn muscle. It didn't heal back properly. I think I can fix it, but-”

He cut her off, “Korra did it. How can you tell all that about my shoulder?”

Kita stepped back, pulling her hands away with a jerk, as though he hard burned her. She'd done some asking around town about Bolin, and had uncovered that he was traveling with Avatar Korra. Still...“The Avatar did that? Really? And she missed the obvious muscle tearing?” Then Kita slapped a hand over her mouth. Crap! What was she doing? Speaking badly of the Avatar? In front of one of the Avatar's friends no less. Smart, Kita. Real smart. “I mean...I...maybe she was in a hurry.” Not helping. Just shut up. Kita clamped her jaw tight. No more talking. She watched Bolin's face, feeling cold nervousness flood through her.

Bolin was still looking at her with a bright interest in his eyes. “Seriously, how did you do the thing where you could tell that I have muscle damage?” Was it possible he hadn't noticed her badmouthing the Avatar's healing skills? Or maybe he didn't care?

Kita shook her head, trying to clear it of thoughts of her own stupidity. “That? Most good healers can do it. It's...well honestly a form of bloodbending.”

“A what?” Bolin sprang back from her, eyes wide and alarmed.

Kita raised both hands in a calming motion, but Bolin flinched, as though she was going to begin bloodbending him right then and there. “No! No, no,” she said, feeling suddenly lost. What had she said this time? “It's not bloodbending, bloodbending. Not the illegal form! We Don't control people. I would never-” she lowered her arms, slowly. She felt as though she had stumbled off a sunny path and into a field of brambles. Every move she made was making the situation worse.

Bolin still stood back from her, gripping his injured shoulder defensively, but his expression softened. He was going to give her a chance to explain. Kita plunged ahead. “Most healers use this technique. We feel how the blood moves through the body to detect a problem, or an injury. Then, we can help the body mend itself, as we aid it with our own healing water from the outside. We never use it to control a person. I wouldn't even know how. Please, believe me, Bolin,” she gasped.

She must have looked so pathetic that the earthbender moved closer to her again. He was still watching her, as though unsure now if she was a dangerous animal. “You've never...taken anyone's bending away have you?”

Kita's eyes snapped up to meet his. “What? No! Oh, no! I could never do that! Is this because of what happened in Republic City? We heard some reports. Someone was using bloodbending to lock other people's bending away?”

Bolin's voice was low, and he stopped meeting her gaze. “It almost happened to me. I made a stupid mistake, and if it wasn't for my brother and Korra I would have-”

“Oh, Bolin,” without thinking Kita stepped towards him and slid her hand into his. They both realized what she had done at the same time, and they blushed simultaneously, jerking their hands away again. Kita crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “That must have been so frightening,” she mumbled, her eyes downcast.

“Yeah, well,” Bolin seemed to be regaining his composure. He brushed the whole situation away with the wave of his hand. “I wasn't that scared. I mean, he would have had one heck of a fight on his hands, if he had really tried to take my bending, that's for sure.” He plopped back down on the rock. Kita stood cautiously for a moment, before moving to stand beside him. She still felt uncertain. She wasn't eager to speak in case she messed everything up again. Bolin looked expectantly up at her, “Are you going to fix my shoulder or what?” he asked, his big, goofy grin back in place.

Kita couldn't stop her own, easy smile. She reached gingerly forward, touching her fingertips to his arm, feeling the water around her rise up to encircle her hands. The white-blue glow of healing water illuminated Bolin's face and shone in his eyes. Kita's smile grew wider. Then she closed her eyes and focused. She visualized Bolin's muscles, damaged and scarred. She swept her hand in a delicate circle, fingers loose and tickling his skin. She felt Bolin tense as she worked on his arm, soothing and repairing the damage. It was hard work. Most of the injuries she normally worked on were recent, not older like this one. Still, she could do it, she knew she could. Or what was the point of her daily escape for training?

There. She finally felt Bolin's blood run smoothly. The muscle was repaired. Still tender, but that would sort itself out. It would have been better had it been healed when he had injured it in the first place, but beggars couldn't be choosers. She took her hands away, opening her eyes. She was met with Bolin's face, curious and impressed. He gently rotated his shoulder, then smiled at her. “The stiffness is gone!”

“It'll still be a little sore, but that should be gone by tomorrow,” she smiled at him, feeling proud of herself. She bent and scooped up a large handful of snow, setting it on his shoulder. “This'll help.”

“Thanks, Kita,” Bolin said, so earnestly that Kita blushed. “I suppose we really shouldn't keep up our pro bending training today, huh?”

“I suppose not,” Kita agreed. She sat down beside Bolin on the rock, expecting him to pull away, as he had done the last time she had sat beside him. This time he seemed much more relaxed. Prin hopped eagerly from Kita's shoulder to Bolin's. The earthbender reached up and scritched the little creature's feathery chin. Prin peeped with pleasure, half closing her large eyes. “So...tell me about Republic City?” Kita pulled up her legs, hugging her knees and watching Bolin out of the corner of her eye.

“Sure!” he said, leaning back and putting on the expression of a sage story teller. Kita stifled a laugh behind her hand. The earthbender began his tale. He told her about how big the city was. How it could take a day to get from the market district to the factory district, if you took the time to stop at all of his favorite food shops. He told her about his and Mako's home above the probending arena, and the Fire Ferret's rise to fame as a winning team. Kita drank it all in. Bolin was animated and free as he spoke. His descriptions tended to involves the words “awesome” or “very cool”. Kita laughed often, and every time she did it seemed to encourage him to go to new heights of story telling.

“What is it like being friends with the Avatar?” Kita asked, watching as Bolin finished giving her a play by play of a pro bending match he had helped win, (though he was careful of his shoulder).

“It's...” he dropped his hands, which had been raised for dramatic effect. “To be honest...” he glanced around, making sure no one was listening in. Kita sat forward. “It's frustrating.”

“Frustrating?” Kita asked.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Bolin said, as though the idea was Kita's instead of his own. He sat down beside her again, and she felt the warmth coming from him. He smelled a little musky from sweat and she appreciated it silently. “It's just, I'm used to friendships going two ways, you know? Take my brother and me. When we were kids, living on the streets of Republic City, we looked out for each other. One day he'd save me, the next I'd save him. It made sense. But Korra? She thinks she doesn't need anyone. Maybe she doesn't,” he shrugged. “She's dating Mako and he barely gets to have an opinion in conversations, let alone really help her out. At least he got to go help her take out Amon. I'm a good friend when she remembers I'm there. The rest of the time I think I'm just a burden. I never get to help her.”

“That does sound frustrating,” Kita sympathized. She sensed that there was more that he wasn't telling her, but she didn't press. She wasn't used to people admitting things to her. She decided to change the subject slightly, “what did you mean you and your brother were living on the streets in Republic City?”

“Our parents died when we were really young. I barely even remember them,” Bolin looked at his hands, which rested in his lap. “Mako remembers them better. After they died we didn't have any place to go, so we were on the streets. When we got older we ran with some gangs, just so we had food, a warm place to stay.”

Kita wrinkled her nose, skeptical. “That sort of thing really happens? I thought those were only stories my father used to keep me from going to the city. Here, if a child's parents die, they get taken in by other relatives or adopted by another family. Seeing a kid living alone on the street would be totally alien to our culture.”

“I think I like your culture better,” Bolin gave her a quick grin. She wished it would stay.

“At least you and your brother had each other,” Kita pointed out. “I wish I had siblings. I think my parents just wanted a bender like mom, and when I was born they were satisfied and stopped. They wanted someone to carry on my mother's work so the family business would stay afloat.”

“I think your shop is really cool,” Bolin said, “and your art is way better than anything I've seen in the city.”

“Really?” Kita felt herself blush again. Even if she did hate the job, a little praise for her work never hurt.

“Were you close with your mother?” Bolin asked.

Kita bristled. “No.” This wasn't exactly true. Kita had been no closer with nor more distant with her mother than other children she knew, but when her mother had died Kita felt only anger. Suddenly she was expected to take over and fill her mother's shoes. The woman had left her with nothing but a shadow to stand in, and Kita still felt bitterness rather than sadness when she thought of her loss.

Bolin seemed to sense her displeasure and didn't press the matter. Instead he grinned sideways at her, nudging her playfully with his elbow. She bumped back with her own arm. Bolin scooted towards her, almost knocking her off the rock with his hip. Kita squeaked as she struggled for balance, embarrassed at the feminine sound. She bumped back with her own hip, which had much less effect on the sturdy Bolin.

Prin, disliking the sudden motion, fluttered away with a disgruntled hoot to sit on a nearby branch and glare disapprovingly at the pair. Kita tried harder, throwing her whole body against Bolin, who resisted with some difficulty, laughing jovially. “What is that? A little turtle-duck brushing up against me? Hmmmm...what could it want?”

“I'll turtle-duck you!” Kita growled, giving him another attempted shove.

“What does that even mean?” Bolin chortled, using bending to dump her off the rock as he stood up.

Kita fell into the snow, hastily bending it around her in a swirl to spray across Bolin's chest. “I have no idea!” she gasped for air as she tried to keep her laughter under control.

Soon a snowball fight was in full swing. “Stop cheating!” Bolin shouted as Kita bent several snowballs at him.

“It's not cheating! I'm using my natural abilities to my advantage!” she popped her head up from behind the snow fort she had built for herself. “It's not my fault waterbenders are the best at snowball fights! Don't be jealous!”

Bolin had hastily constructed his own shelter out of earth, so it was much sturdier than Kita's, but he was forced to make his snowballs by hand. He lobbed a few in Kita's direction, and she dodged them easily. “It is so cheating!”

The fight went on well into the sunset hours. The Southern Water Tribe city slowly came alive with pale, wintery street lights, which reflected with an eery beauty off of the buildings and the crystalline 'trees'. The stars soon showed their faces a few at a time, as though they were waking from under the blue blanket of day. Kita and Bolin lay in the snow, side by side, panting with weariness and beginning to shiver, though they had both put their coats back on. Kita was acutely aware of Bolin's proximity. She had the notion to try something, but she was not certain if it was a good idea. But then, when had something being a bad idea ever stopped her before? Still, she tested the waters. “So...Eska?”

“Eska,” Bolin spoke the name as a pained sigh.

That was all the sign that Kita needed. She rolled over, now on all fours, arms on either side of Bolin's shoulders. Her braid fell from her hood to the snow beside his cheek. Before he could react, Kita planted a kiss on his lips. Not a long one. A brief meeting of lips, then she quickly pulled away and ran off, her laugh echoing after her.

~~~~

Bolin lay in the snow, staring at the stars, eyes wide with amazement. Had that really happened? If it hadn't, he didn't want to know. He'd gladly live in that fantasy world. It took him several, bewildered moments to sit up, but by then Kita was long gone.

'Across the Field'


	4. Part 4

Part 4

 

Kita walked down the street. Her mind was lost and busy, so she little noticed the commotion around her. Shops were closing their doors early. Northern Watertribe men strode around, gazing imperiously at their Southern brethren. Someone even glared at her, but Kita didn't look up. She held a broken piece of sandstone on her gloved palm. A bit of the earthbending disks that Bolin had used when he taught her some pro-bending moves. She'd found it when she was walking through the park on her way to her healing lesson. She had been trying to forget the handsome earthbender. He had left without so much as a goodbye. Not even a backward glance. She had even heard rumors of his betrothal to Eska, but she did not know how true those were. She doubted he would have left his new bride in such a hurry.

She turned the little fragment over in her hand. She felt her cheeks heat slightly. She had kissed Bolin the last time she had been with him. She had thought there was something growing between them, but clearly she had been mistaken. For all she knew he was in a hurry to get away from her. Crazed watertribe girl, star struck by meeting her first pro-bender. She cursed herself and her natural forwardness.

She pushed aside the animal hide that served as a door to her teacher's healing house. There were several healing houses in the village, rather than one hospital, as she heard large cities had. “Master, I'm sorry I'm a little late. The streets were crowded today.”

“Kita?” her teacher looked up from swirling some healing water in a basin. “I'm surprised you came today.”

“You are?” Kita slid her coat from her shoulders, secreting the rock she had been holding discreetly into a pocket. “Why?”

“Where is your head at, girl?” scolded the woman, brushing her long, silver braid behind her shoulder. “Haven't you noticed what's been going on in this city?”

Kita sat down and began swirling the water with her hands in gentle, swishing motions, adding some ground herbs, as her teacher had been. “Well...I mean...I know that the Northern Watertribe has been sending troops here, and that they have us landlocked at the moment,” her focused lapsed and some of the glowing water slashed onto her knee. She made a pinching motion in the air above the spot and lifted the water out of the fabric, guiding it back to the basin. “Is there something else I should know?”

Her teacher rolled her eyes. “Girl, your head is so full of nonsense all the time you can't even tell when your own people are being oppressed. I'm moving out of this city,” she leaned forward, her voice lowering, “There are some settlements forming outside the city. We Southerners aren't liking the look of these Northern upstarts, so some of us are packing up.”

“Northern upstarts?” Kita raised an eyebrow, but she too kept her voice low. “I thought Chief Unalaq was here to unite the tribes.”

“You see much uniting going on?” her teacher asked. She fetched a step stool and began taking the dried herbs down from the rafters.

Kita stood and, without a word, took her teacher's place on the stool, handing the herbs down. “So we're being oppressed.”

“Haven't you noticed that your business has gotten worse?” the old woman asked. “The Northerners aren't allowing Southerners to shop in their own town square.”

“Really?” Kita handed down a bundle of strong smelling herbs that made her nose twitch,

“You need to learn to pay more attention, Kita,” her teacher growled. “Honestly, it's like I haven't been trying to teach you discipline for years. Get your head out of the clouds and back down here to earth. The avatar up and left us too. War between the tribes may very well be brewing and what does she do? Off she dashes back to her beloved Republic City, and we don't hear so much as a peep from her. Humph. I think you and that avatar have a lot in common.”

Kita moved the stool to reach the next bundle. Was it true? Was war brewing, and had the avatar abandoned them? Her mind strayed again to Bolin and she admonished herself. Her teacher was right. It was time to get back to reality, and Bolin was no longer a reality for her. She handed down something that had thorns, careful to hold it between her fingertips. The door flew open and two figures stood there, one supporting the other. “My brother is in need of healing,” came a dull, female voice.

Kita squinted, the bright light from outside making it difficult to see, but she thought she recognized the voice.

“My goodness! Bring him over here!” gasped Kita's teacher, gesturing the figures inside.

“Desna? Eska?” Kita gasped as the watertribe royalty made their way into the healing house.

“Kita, clear the cot! Eska, please bring your brother over here! What happened?”

The young woman led her brother inside. She lowered him gently into one of the healing cots. He let out a low groan. Kita knelt beside him at ounce, hands spread over his chest. Eska watched with hooded eyes. Kita thought the princess always looked like she was tasting something foul. “It is none of your concern what happened to my brother.” Eska replied, coldly.

“He has internal burns. Like he's been electrocuted,” Kita mumbled. Her eyes were closed as she felt the young man's blood flowing. Felt the way his own body reacted. “Was there an attack by a firebender?”

“No,” Eska replied, simply.

Kita's teacher knelt beside her, spreading her own hands to see. “She is right. It does seem as though some form of electricity went through him. It is strange. I sense some other energy. Do you feel it Kita?”

Kita probed deeper, feeling each thrum and flow of Desna's heart beat. “I...I'm not sure. Wait!” Something was there. A cold, slithering feeling. “Spirit magic?” she asked. She had not had much experience with it. Once or twice a year someone would be attacked by a dark spirit, and a few times Kita had been available to help.

“It is,” her teacher nodded, which Kita sensed rather than saw. “Can you extract it?”

“This is not the time for an inexperienced healer,” Eska spoke up, her tone icy. “You will heal my brother with the best of your techniques.”

“Alright,” Kita's teacher sighed. “I will focus on the spirit magic, Kita, you should be able to easily repair the internal damage.”

Kita focused her attention on Desna's wounds. She felt him shudder under her hands. His mouth moved fractionally, “Father. No. You must not,” he hissed between thin lips. Kita felt his words reverberating his chest as she encouraged his body to heal.

She opened an eye and glanced towards the boy's pale face. His eyes were still closed. She refocused herself and continued to work.

It did not take the two healers long before Desna was well again. He said nothing to them, though his eyes caught Kita's for a moment. Perhaps there was a thanks in their blue. She decided to believe that there was. “Good bye,” she called, weakly, as the two left the hut.

“I don't like the look of that at all,” Kita's teacher shook her head, still watching the door where the twins had disappeared. “Spirit magic. The boy injured, but his sister won't tell us why.”

“Desna said something about his father,” Kita mumbled, so quietly she wasn't sure her aging teacher had heard her.

“That man,” the old woman moved back to arranging herbs in a large, traveling basket. “The sooner we get out of here, the better. He's leading us down the road to ruin, you mark me, girl.”

Kita felt a deep unease creeping over her. “Maybe I should go home, Master.”

“I think that would be wise,” her teacher nodded. “If that father of yours has any sense, which is debatable, he'll move you to one of the outposts like me.”

Kita pulled her coat back on. She felt herself trembling, even though she was not cold. Something was very wrong. She had felt it in the spirit magic that lurked inside Desna. She hoped her teacher had gotten it all out of the boy.

When she got home her father was active. “Dad?” she asked. Her mind had been so lost in these new, confusing issues, that she had walked in the front door. Usually she at least pretended that her father did not know that she sneaked away for lessons. She could use her bending to get in her bedroom window at the back of the building.

“Kita,” her father looked up when she came in. He was loading vases and sculptures into a wooden crate padded with hay. “Good, you're here. Go upstairs and gather your things. Then help me pack up the office.”

“Dad, what's going on?” Kita stood in the doorway, her brows knit together with concern.

“Two Northern watertribe soldiers were just in here,” her father's voice was tight. “They were...rude. I've decided that we're leaving.”

As her father turned Kita saw a bruise blossoming on his cheek. She darted towards him, hands ready. “Rude? What did those thugs do to you?”

He waved her away, “Kita, focus. It's time we showed a little loyalty to our tribe. I'm not standing for this any more. I should have left when our neighbors did.”

“They left?” Kita looked at the wall which abutted the neighboring store as though she could see through to the empty shelves beyond.

“Kita, where has your head been these last few days?” her father asked, annoyance in his voice.

“I'm sorry,” she looked at her boots, ashamed. “At least let me see your cheek,” she pleaded, gently. “It could be worse than a bruise.”

“We don't have time for this,” he grumbled, but he sat down on a stool just the same.

It was indeed only a bruise, and Kita healed it easily. Then she did as she was told and went upstairs to pack up her room. She couldn't shake the seeping feeling of unease. Would they be gone long? She should have asked, but she was too distressed by how quickly everything was falling apart. Things hadn't seemed so bad. Sure the Northerners were bullies, and over-fond of using their waterbending aggressively, but war? They couldn't go to war! Her tribe would be slaughtered. They didn't have enough warriors. Chief Tonroq was Unalaq's brother. Couldn't they work it out without bloodshed? She rolled up her blankets, glancing at the sculpture she and Bolin had made together. A crack had formed because of the way she had hardened it, but the crack only seemed to add character. Without thinking she reached over and picked up the piece. “Bolin...where did you go? Where did the avatar go?”

She finished up her room, deciding to pack sparingly. They would come back home. She had believe that. She thought about the sculpture, held it in her hands for a long moment. Then she set it back on her nightstand. It was too fragile for travel, she told herself. Or maybe she was a little mad at the man who had helped her create it.

She could hear her father still working in the store, so she went to the back room. Failed art and overstock lined the shelves. Should she bring her pottery wheel? She would save it for last. See how much they had to move, and how they were going to get it out to the camp. Instead she went over to her father's desk and began stuffing papers into a messenger bag. She little heeded what she was doing until one of the papers escaped her fingers and drifted to the floor. She made a disgruntled sound and bent down to pick it up. Her breath caught in her throat.

Kita,

I am sorry I didn't not get a chance to say goodbye to you. I stopped by your house, but you were off at training, and I realized that I don't know where that is. Your dad scares me, so I didn't ask him. Instead I figured I would write you a letter. Avatar Korra says we have to go back to Republic City. She says we have a good chance of getting an army and bringing it back to help prevent war. I shouldn't be gone very long.

I wanted you to know I liked that kiss. I didn't want you to think I didn't because I left. Eska and I aren't together any more. I told her today. She was a little mad. Alright, very mad. That's another reason we needed to leave in a hurry. That girl is scary.

I hope I'll see you again soon.  
Bolin

Kita read the letter a second time, then tucked it gently into the collar of her shirt. Anger fumed inside her. What was Bolin's letter, obviously several days old, doing in her father's desk? She continued stuffing papers, though she was even less careful than she had been, into the bag. Papers tore and crumpled as she stuffed and fumed. When she finished she marched back into the shop, her best glare aimed at her parent.

“Are you ready?” Torq raised his head to look at his daughter. He must have recognized the expression on her face because he looked down again, as though hoping she would go away.

“So, Dad, I was tidying your desk and I found this,” she lifted the letter from her collar. “Did you forget to give it to me or something?”

Her father didn't answer. He kept busy, packing up the last few vases, then repacking them when Kita didn't go away. “I didn't forget,” he said, quietly.

Kita rarely saw her father looking ashamed. She wasn't sure what to do with it. Her father was usually yelling at her, and turning her arguments around. “Why did you keep it? If you didn't want me to have it, why not just burn it?” she leaned to one hip, arms folded.

“I wasn't sure,” he said, huskily. “You know how I feel about you dating. You already have enough to keep you busy without boys complicating things. But, this boy...he's friends with the avatar.”

“What?” Kita snapped. “You kept his letter because he knows the all important avatar? Not because he's a nice guy? Because he has powerful friends?”

“Kita, please, not now.” Her father said. He straightened, his face firm again. Kita found herself bitterly wishing she hadn't healed his bruise. His eyes were cold now. “We do not have time for this. That boy left. It doesn't look like he, or the avatar, are coming back. They abandoned us, and he probably forgot about you as soon as he got back to the city.”

“Or maybe he's busy. Or maybe our mail isn't getting through because there's a freaking blockade in the harbor. Is this the story you're going with now? That you're protecting my fragile feelings from the big, mean, boy?”

“Kita,” his tone was dangerous. “I know you think you run the show because you're a bender and I'm not. Because I let you think you're sneaking out for your training. But I am your father, and I am saying we don't have time for this right now. Some of our fellow Southerners are coming with a cart to pick us up in a few minutes, and I don't want them to see us having an argument.”

On cue the bell above the door rang and someone stuck his head into the shop. “Ready to go, Torq? Kita?”

“Yes,” Kita's father said. He shouldered a pack, gesturing that she should follow.

Kita glanced around. “What about the stock?”

“I crated it all up. Now we lock the door and hope no one breaks in.” he sighed. “At this point it's all we can do.”

Kita took one long look at the shop, then followed her father out the door. As they rode in the back of the cart, holding their belongings in place so they did not fall out, Kita and her father were very quiet. She was far from ready to forgive him yet. However much she wanted to think about Bolin, however, her thoughts were too crowded with the possibility of war and the fear of whatever dark spirits Unalaq might be dealing with. Why hadn't the chief been with his wounded son? There was no denying that Eska had made the right choice to bring her brother in for help. Why hadn't their father been at their side? A shudder went through her and it had nothing to do with the cold wind that was whipping up as they left the city.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

 

The cart trundled along, pulled by two Seal-Oxen. Kita sat at the back, shoulder to shoulder with her father, grimly attempting to ignore the jostling. She also tried her best to keep a good fume going at her father's behavior with the letter from Bolin.

She was in her own world again when the cart pulled to a stop in the outpost camp. Without the shelter of the city, a cruel wind whipped through, grabbing at Kita's hair and taking her warmth with it. She held herself and scanned the camp. Low, rounded buildings made of branches and animal hides stood out against the snowy backdrop of the mountains. She saw people wearing traditional Southern Watertribe garb. Kita couldn't shake the feeling that fleeing to an outpost was letting the North win. They had abandoned their homes and business, for what? Like a stubborn child that can't have its way and runs off? Like...her?

She hastily banished those thoughts and focused on helping her father carry their belongings to a long cabin where several families were living. Bunk beds were set up inside, barracks style, with large lockers at the ends for people to put their things in. Warm furs covered each bunk. A fire pit squatted in the middle of the long hut, with a hole in the ceiling to let the smoke escape. It was noisy. Children rushed everyone, bumping and playing. Women chattered. Kita felt instantly out of place. She hurried through the task of helping her father unpack. Then she pulled her coat back on and tugged her hood up. “I'm going to explore,” she said.

“Kita, I really don't think you-” her father began, but she strode away, ignoring his words.

She had to hold her hood as the wind grabbed at it. She squinted, her eyes watering with the cold. The snow was thick and heavy around the buildings. She saw some people moving about, but not many. She decided to begin walking and see where her feet took her.

Another residential long-house or two. A smaller hut which she guessed belonged to the chief and his wife. Father and mother of the avatar, Kita recalled. She wondered if they were proud of their daughter. What did they think of Avatar Korra abandoning them? Kita had always liked Chief Tonroq. He was steady, and usually very kind to his people. He didn't put on airs and act high and mighty like his brother did. Still, she wasn't sure how he could stand for this. Or how he could flee with his people instead of staying to fight.

She walked on. Supply houses. A byre for the livestock. Then she spied the building where she knew she would try to spend most of her time. Away from her father and that noisy, crowded long-house. The healing hut. She strode over and confidently pushed aside the thick, hide door. As soon as she entered she found herself taken firmly by the upper arms and ushered to a cot before she could utter a word. A young woman, perhaps a little older than Kita herself, bustled around her. “Are you sick? What are your symptoms? Please be specific.”

“I'm not sick,” Kita managed as the girl grasped her jaw and began probing the lymph nodes on either side of Kita's throat.

“Injured then?” the young woman asked, already turning to a bowl of healing water which sat beside the cot.

“No,” Kita said, exasperated.

“Oh,” the girl seemed flummoxed. “Well, then you shouldn't be here.”

“Yes, I should,” Kita stood up, putting her hands on her hips and tossing her head so her hood fell back. She glanced around, expecting to see her teacher somewhere in the hut. She saw many healing women, old and young, but her teacher was not where to be seen. She must have gone to a different outpost, Kita thought glumly.

“Who is this, Lily?”

Kita turned to see the speaker and her eyes got very wide. “Master Katara!” she exclaimed. She bowed deeply from the waist, wondering if she should get to her knees for a full bow. The short, old woman who walked up to meet her was a legend. The wife of Avatar Aang, plus an amazing healer, and a warrior in a culture which still stubbornly discouraged women from fighting. Kita was completely starstruck. She opened her mouth, attempting to explain herself, but no sound came out. Her cheeks went red because she was certain that she looked like a fish that had just been landed.

Master Katara, for her part, smiled kindly at the young woman. “What seems to be the trouble?” she asked.

“I was trying to examine this young woman,” said the girl called Lily, a little haughtily. She looked down her nose at Kita. “But then I found out that she is not sick or injured, so I told her she needed to leave. This hut is for the sick or injured only, not gawkers.”

This finally made Kita annoyed enough to find her words. “I am not a gawker. I'm a healer. I've been trained all my life by Master Rinka.”

“I know Rinka,” Master Katara nodded, her smile causing her eyes to wrinkle pleasantly at the corners. Kita felt instantly drawn to the woman she admired. Her heart beat fast as she smiled back. “She has had a few apprentices that I have known of. Which are you?”

“Kita,” Kita said, proudly.

Katara seemed to be considering for a moment. “I believe I have heard her speak of you.” Not the glowing recognition Kita had been hoping for, but at least she wasn't going to be ousted from the hut. “Rinka trains several techniques that the other healers do not, such as blood-healing. I have been trying to get the other masters to teach it as well, but you know how stubborn those people can be some times. Are you trained in blood-healing, young Kita.”

“I am,” Kita said, her proud tone returning to her voice. She hadn't guessed that her training was special. She and her teacher's other students all knew it. It seemed the most natural way to heal.

Katara nodded. She leaned towards Kita, her voice low and confiding. “To be honest, not all waterbenders can learn the technique. Like true bloodbending, it is a rare gift. We in the South are more likely to have the gift.”

The girl, Lily, was still standing by and looking uncomfortable. Kita wondered if Lily knew how to use blood-healing. “I was hoping I could make myself useful here in the healing hut,” Kita said, clasping her hands behind her back, trying to look like an eager apprentice. Already she was daydreaming of Master Katara being impressed with her skills. Saying that she wanted to take Kita as her own apprentice.

The door opened again and a gust of icy air rushed in. A woman stood, supporting a man against her shoulder. “Please help! We just got in from the city. We were attacked by Northern soldiers! My husband!”

Kita rushed forward with Lily to help the man to the cot. Several other healers looked up from what they were doing to see if they were needed. When they spotted Katara, they turned back to their own tasks. “Well, Kita, it seems that you have your chance to prove yourself,” the master healer said, smiling.

Kita rolled up her sleeves. The man's leg had the most obvious damage. A long, ugly wound ran up his calf. His wife had done her best to bandage it with rags, but his blood had seeped through. She gently spread her fingers around the wound. She closed her eyes and her mind slipped easily into its healing mode. The leg wound was an easy heal. She reached with her right hand, not even opening her eyes, and summoned the healing water from the bowl over to her. One hand swirling in lazy circles she worked the water. With her other hand she encouraged his body to heal. His blood and flesh obeyed and soon the injuring was shrinking. Then it sealed, looking like nothing more than a surface scratch. Kita was about to pull her hands away, but she hesitated for a moment. Her old teacher's words rang in her ears. “Don't be too eager. Remember to check for infection with every wound.”

Kita reached out with her senses, feeling the man's blood pulsing and surging through his veins. She searched carefully for infection. Satisfied that there was none, she lifted her hands from his skin and opened her eyes. The man was smiling gratefully at her and his wife gave a cheer, throwing her arms around his neck.

“Be careful,” Kita warned. “I healed the wound, but I didn't replace the blood he lost. He should rest and drink plenty of fluids for a while.”

“Yes, of course,” the wife said, still beaming.

Kita turned to Katara and Lily. “Well done,” the master smiled.

Kita felt her heart glow. Certainly it had been an easy healing, but she had still been praised by Master Katara herself. How many people had that distinction? “Thank you, Master,” Kita bowed again.

“You are welcome to help us, young Kita. Lily will show you around and teach you about our methods.”

Kita shot an annoyed glance at the older girl, but she turned back to Katara with a willing smile. “Thank you, Master. And, may I say, I hope to have the chance to study your techniques as much as possible.”

“We shall see,” was all the healing master said as she walked away.

“Let me show you around,” Lily said, her tone flat and annoyed sounding.

Kita followed Lily through the hut. Healers were working quietly. There was the familiar smell of dried herbs and woodsmoke in the air. Lily spoke sparingly. She was clearly not eager for Kita to become the new favorite. Kita wasn't sure that would happen, but she had her hopes. She might not have been much good at pro-bending, but she was a skilled healer. She knew that much. A lifetime of training had to count for something.

“Here we do triage,” Lily gestured sounding bored. “You know what that is, right? You know how to assess which injuries are the worst and should be treated first, I assume?”

“Er, of course,” Kita answered. Her teacher had explained triage, but she had never actually had to do it herself. They never had that many wounded at one time.

Lily shot Kita a look, which Kita wasn't certain she understood. Was it superiority, or pity? Kita swallowed, reassuring herself that she could and would succeed here. This was her chance to do something more than make sculptures for her father's shop. If she distinguished herself enough maybe she could give up the family business and become an apprentice to Master Katara. Her father would have to let her do that, surely. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime.

~~~~

Kita did her best for the next several days. She worked in the healing hut as much as she could. Not only because she wanted to impress Master Katara, but also because she wanted to be around her father as little as possible. He only made her more frustrated every time they talked. Especially if she brought up Bolin.

For a while the handsome earthbender was far from her thoughts, but then someone got their hands on a radio and tuned it to the Republic City station. Kita listened as often as she could. Once she was even admonished by one of the other women, for being too unfocused on her tasks. Embarrassed, she tired not to listen unless all she was doing was sweeping or tidying. She still heard quite a bit of information. It seemed that while dangers were broiling in the watertribes, the city was also having issues. Bombings baffled the police. The president flatly refusing to come to the aid of the Southern tribe. Kita usually ended up fuming after she heard such reports. Those spoiled Republic City people. They couldn't be bothered when people here in the South were in serious danger. When people in the South had been chased from their own homes.

Then she heard something else. “...Newest craze to hit Republic City! 'Movers' are the new breakthrough in entertainment! Inventor and wealthy entrepreneur, Varrick, claims that soon everyone will be flocking to see his Movers. Thus far the most popular series has been The Adventures of Nuktuk, Warrior of the South! The popular character of Nuktuk is portrayed by one time champion, pro-bender, Bolin.”

Kita stopped sweeping, uncertain that she had head correctly. “Bolin?” she whispered. Her Bolin?

“When the earthbender was asked what it was like to play a waterbender for the big screen, he replied 'I have have had the chance to train with a really great waterbending teacher, who showed me how to move convincingly. I think the audience will totally believe that I'm a natural!'”

Kita almost dropped her broom. It was her Bolin. Was he talking about her? Was she the waterbender he had 'trained' with. Her heart did a little flip in her chest. So he was a big star now? No wonder he hadn't been in a hurry to come back. She wondered if she should be mad, or upset, but to be honest she understood. If she could get away and become a mover star, she certainly would. Even if she did have to leave behind a boy she had just met. After all, she thought, they had only kissed once, and that had been her idea anyway. Her hand strayed to her pocked, wrapping around the little sandstone fragment she always kept there.

“Kita, over here!” Master Katara called her suddenly. Kita's head shot up, snapping around to look towards the door. Several men were being led inside. More injured than Kita has seen come at once. She recognized many of them as village warriors. Her breath caught. They certainly looked as though they had been in a fight. Bleeding wounds. Bruises. Frostbite from the frigid water many cold-weather benders used.

One of the older women did triage and gave the young healers their tasks. Kita found herself working on a young man she thought she recognized from her jaunts through town. What was his name? “Noruq?” she tried as she coaxed his broken rib back into place.

He grimaced and blinked a few times, looking up at her. He must have recognized her, because he nodded slightly. His face was pale and his eyes watered with pain. Kita closed her eyes again, helping his body knit itself back together. Once the rib was back where it belonged, and no longer in danger of puncturing something vital, she opened her eyes again. He was looking at her. She was glad he hadn't passed out. “What's going on?” she hissed, careful to keep her voice low.

“We're fighting back,” he answered, his voice tight.

Kita moved to hold his hand flat between her own, sensing a broken bone there. “Fighting back?” she asked.

“Yeah. We're not going to stand for being chased out of our homes. We backed out of the city to regroup so we could make gorilla attacks. We can't win a head-on fight, but Chief Tonroq thinks we can succeed this way.”

“It doesn't seem like you can win this way either,” Kita pointed out, setting his mended hand back down at his side and working on a few angry bruises where icebending had struck him.

“We were just the distraction,” Noruq smiled impishly at her. “There were two groups that went out. The other group got in and stole supplies right out from under the enemy's noses. None of those warriors were injured because we kept the Northerners busy.”

“This still seems like a bad plan,” Kita said, sitting back on her heels. “You're healed. You might be stiff for a few days. Especially around that rib, but you'll be fine.”

“Thanks, Kita,” the young man smiled crookedly.

He started to walk away, but she caught his hand, “Wait. Be careful out there. I don't want to see you in here again, alright?”

He chuckled. “No promises.” His words were happy and sly. Like a kid who had just had his knee bandaged after playing a prank. Not like a young man whose rib had almost punctured a lung. She shook her head, her hands cupping her elbows, watching him go. One thing she knew with certainty, things were going to get worse before they got better.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

 

Bolin was finding ways to distract himself. If he couldn't find something to do on Varrick's ship, where could he? I checked room after room, eyes wide with excited wonderment with each new discovery. New clothes. New foods. New animal friends. Well, maybe not animal friends. That adventure had ended with him receiving a firm bite on the backside, potentially ruining his new raincoat.

He slammed the door shut with a grunt, wiping his brow with an exaggerated motion, as though he was still on camera. He hesitated, looking around. The ship was warm and close inside, with many hallways and doors. It felt empty. Maybe it was the tennis court with no one there to play against him. Maybe it was all the food with no one to eat it with him. Everyone else was very busy. Mako was on deck, training with Korra. Kya was one deck below him, seeing to little Jinora. He thought of the girl, trapped in the spirit world. How lonely she must be.

Even Pabu wasn't with Bolin. The fire-ferret was snoozing with Naga on deck. He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if one of these levels had a swimming pool. Or maybe he could convince Mako to pay attention to him.

Ever since Mako had become a cop he had been so absorbed in his own dealings. For a while Bolin had thought it felt good to get back at his brother. To be the big movie star. This time he was the important, successful brother. But in the end it had all felt hollow, and lonely. He even missed Varrick. The man may have been a criminal, but he had seemed to think Bolin was worth something. Bolin thought about Ginger, his attractive co-star. She had finally kissed him before they left, and even that seemed empty. Why did everything he thought would matter end up not feeling like it should. He hadn't felt like he had truly succeeded at anything since he had fought Amon's troops. Then he had been useful. But they were going to war again, so perhaps he could recapture some of that shine.

Bolin joined the others on the deck in time to hear Tenzin's tense voice instructing Korra as she took out some of her boundless anger on a straw-stuffed dummy. Bolin spotted Mako standing across he deck and jogged over to him. He tried to keep the mood light as he poked fun at his brother's frequent poor choices when it came to women. He draped an arm companionably around Mako's shoulders. “So, have you told Korra yet about how when you guys broke up you kinda started dating Asami while Korra was off being attacked by dark spirits?” Bolin had meant for this to be a gentle ribbing, but Mako was ever serious.

“Would you keep it down?” The taller man glanced nervously at the avatar, who pounded the long-suffering straw dummy with her airbending. Leave it to her to make airbending look aggressive, Bolin thought, raising an eyebrow. Mako pressed on, “I'm waiting for the right moment.”

Bolin felt annoyance flow through him. He fell back on an exasperated exclamation, “Ooooh! Mako, you know a wise man once told me that delivering bad news to a girlfriend was like ripping off a blood sucking leech,” he put on his most clownish expression, even as he hit Mako with his brother's own words. “You just have to do it fast and get it over with!”

“I hate it when you listen to me,” Mako griped, avoiding looking at Bolin's goofy grin. “Fine.”

Bolin gave his brother's shoulders an encouraging shake, and Korra chose that moment to behead the practice dummy. Both young men flinched. Bolin felt his lip curl in a nervous wince. Just then he was glad that he and Korra hadn't worked out. He still found her very attractive, but she was definitely a little too angry, at least lately. “Good luck, bro,” Bolin hissed to Mako as the firebender bent to pick up the dummy's charred head.

Korra moved to talk to her boyfriend and Bolin wandered over to stand beside Tenzin. He could sense the airbender's tension. Something he wasn't used to. Tenzin always seemed uptight, but his style of bending required a certain inward calm. Now the man's peace was broken. Bolin hesitated, then spoke quietly. “She'll be alright. Jinora. We'll get her back.”

Tenzin blinked a few times, then fixed his gray eyes on the young man beside him. Bolin was startled by the intensity of the gaze and immediately fell back on what he knew. Humor. “Pie?” he offered, holding up what remained of the slice he had been munching on. It drooped limply in his grasp and a large blueberry fell out with a 'plop' onto the deck.

Tenzin walked away. Bolin sighed, half in sadness and half in relief. He absently stuffed the pie into his mouth, wiping the mess it made on his lips with the back of his hand. Then he leaned over the edge of the ship, feeling the icy air ruffle his dark hair and fill his lungs with cold. For a fleeting moment a memory flashed into his mind. A face. Bright blue eyes against dark skin. The sassy way she smiled. Her imperfect laugh. She had liked to laugh. He allowed himself to be lost in those memories. They seemed a world away, even though the ship was headed straight back for the place where he had met her. Kita. He recalled her name being shouted after she had run him over the first time he had encountered her. Would he see her again? He didn't get his hopes up. She was one girl in a big tribe.

Tenzin's raised voice got Bolin's attention. Kya and Bumi had joined their brother, and Bolin guessed that Bumi had just told one of his 'war stories' because Tenzin had the look he always wore when he had reached the edge of his patients. Bolin saw Mako walking over as well and joined him. “Are we almost there?” Bolin questioned.

Asami strode up to the group. “Almost, but...” the slender woman hesitated. “I just picked up a distress signal from the Southern troops. There's a problem.”

It turned out that the problem was a blockade, and even as well equipped as Varrick's ship was, there was no way they could punch through. The flying bison was called for. The creature had been floating easily along behind the ship. It landed on deck with a lightness that always surprised Bolin. The bison were so immense, yet so graceful. He turned to see Jinora, cradled in her father's arms, as he brought her up from below decks. She was wrapped in warm blankets, but her face was still pale. Kya hovered beside her, healing water shining between the woman's fingers. As Tenzin moved to the bison Jinora's arm fell free from her wrappings. Bolin rushed forward and gently set the little girl's fragile hand back in place on her stomach. He glanced up at Tenzin and thought he caught sight of a tear in the tough man's eye. Bolin backed away, feeling awkward.

It was easy enough to get over the blockade. Perhaps too easy, Bolin thought as he leaned over the side of the saddle to peer down. The air was thin and very cold, as high as they were. Still, they must have been visible from below. He swallowed. Were they expected?

~~~~

Kita was feeling doubly annoyed. Her hair wasn't cooperating and Prin was flapping around her, peeping with frustration at being so often ignored. The animal was not allowed in the healing hut, and the wind outside was too harsh for the small creature to fly safely. Owl-bats usually stuck to forests. More sheltered from the frigid winds. As a result Prin had been stuck in the dwelling hut for several days, and she was getting cabin fever.

She landed on Kita's shoulder and began pulling her master's braid loose. “Stop it,” Kita scolded, trying to pull the strands away from her pet's beak. “No! Naughty!” every time she tried to grab Prin, the owl-bat flapped just out of her reach. “Where's dad?” Kita wondered aloud. She hadn't seen him since yesterday. She had come in late from the healing hut the night before and he had already been asleep in the darkened dwelling. He must have gotten up very early in the morning, Kita though as she once again attempted to twine her long hair into something resembling a tidy braid. As often as she wandered off without telling him, she still felt a little annoyed that her parent had gone without at least waking her to tell her where he was off too. He was probably helping around the camp. Building new shelters, or mucking out animal stalls, she thought darkly.

Finally her hair was passably tidied and she headed for the healing hut. Everything there was quiet. The only sound was the gentle conversation of the women and the cough of a little boy who had a bad cold. Lily met Kita at the door. “Here,” the older girl said, shoving a broom into Kita's hands. “I have to inventory the herbs. You had better sweep up.”

Kita took the broom, managing to control her desire to smack Lily with it. The other healer always acted so high and mighty. Kita had discovered that Lily wasn't even a native of the Southern Watertribe. Her mother had been from the earth kingdom and Lily had been born there. Their father, a Southern tribesman, had brought his family back to live only a few years before. Lily still managed to act as though she was watertribe royalty, Kita thought darkly. Even if her mother was an earthbender.

Kita began with the sweeping then moved on to mopping as the day wore on. Someone put on the radio but Kita didn't hear any more news of Bolin. Instead a music program played. She let her feet try a few dance steps as she mopped. Someone chuckled at her. She jumped and turned to see Master Katara, who was grinding herbs in a mortar nearby. The old woman had been so quiet that Kita had forgotten that she was there. “You like to dance?” Katara asked, smiling that warm smile that made Kita feel safe and loved in an instant. The smile that only such a woman could possess.

“I know a few traditional dances,” Kita answered, leaning on her mop for a moment.

“My husband and I loved to dance. He was better at it than I. Our friend Toph always called him Twinkle Toes.”

Kita leaned her mop against an empty bed and sat down, her eyes wide with eagerness. She had been hoping for a long time that she might catch the waterbending master in a storytelling mood. She ached to hear the stories of Avatar Aang. “Is it true that Master Toph invented metalbending?”

“As far as I know,” Katara chuckled. “Perhaps another earthbender could have figured it out as well, but never suggest that to Toph.”

“What was she like? What were all of them like?!” Kita could barely contain herself. She was leaning so far forward on the edge of the bed she almost toppled forward into Katara's lap.

The old woman was about to answer when the door to the hut burst open and chaos began.

Suddenly the hut was filled with wounded. The smell of herbs replaced with the stench of blood. The pleasant music with the sounds of pained screams. Kita was jostled aside. For a moment she just stood, mouth gaping open as the wounded kept pouring in. More than she had seen in one place in her entire life. Someone tripped over her mop. The healer turned and shouted in Kita's face “Get moving, girl! Clear away your cleaning and get to work!” the tone was harsh, but it snapped Kita from her own mind.

She rushed to get her mop and bucket out of the way and headed towards the door, where two women were struggling to triage the incoming wounded. Kita slipped, thinking it was mop water on the floor. She glanced down and her heart jerked unpleasantly. She'd slipped in a puddle of blood. Someone grabbed the hem of her tunic, “help me,” he whimpered. He had a bandage held over one eye.

Kita turned to help the man who had addressed her, but instead found herself grasped by the shoulders and propelled once more towards the door. “He's not badly injured. Focus, girl!”

Kita tried to focus her mind as she always could when she was healing. To see the surging influx of wounded as blood cells coursing through veins. It helped a little as she reached the door. A figure had just entered, carrying another over his shoulders. “Dad?!” Kita exclaimed.

Her father stepped further into the hut, easing the young man he carried down from his shoulders. Kita's eyes quickly took her parent in. He was bleeding from his side and his nose, but his expression was cold as he spotted her. “Kita,” he said flatly. He allowed himself to be ushered aside with the less severely injured.

“Dad!” Kita tried to follow him but someone pushed her back. She found herself looking down into the eyes of Master Katara.

“Help him first,” the aging healer gestured to the nearest cot where lay the man Kita's father had carried inside.

Kita shot her parent another concerned glance, then did as she was told. “Oh no!” she breathed, seeing who lay before her. He was such a mess of blood and bruises she barely knew him. “Noruq!” she quickly summoned healing water to her hands and placed her fingertips across his ribs. His breaths were shallow and quick. Shock. She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate past the sound of screaming all around her. Past the hurried words of the other healers. Normally Kita would have had help with someone this injured, but help could not be spared. She inhaled sharply. This time his rib, the one weakened by its previous breaking, had punctured his lung. The lung was collapsing. She worked hurriedly to force the jagged bone back. To stop the blood pouring into the lung.

So focused was she that she barely noticed when his hand closed around her upper arm. Then she felt him squeeze. His lung was safe for the moment so she opened her eyes and met his gaze. Only one of his eyes focused on her. The other stared blankly, the pupil too large. Head wound, she thought, desperately. She couldn't do this! She couldn't keep his chest in shape and heal a bad head wound. She needed help. But there could be no help. Everyone was busy. She watched the young man's lips move, blood trickling from between them. She instinctively took his hand and leaned forward, wiping the blood from his face with her sleeve. Tears were prickling in her eyes. He tried again to speak and she leaned her head down to hear.

“Chief...Chief Tonraq. He's...he's been captured.”

“What?” Kita exhaled. She felt the boy's hand go limp in hers. “No! No no no! Noruq! No! Don't you do this!” she moved back, hands spread over his bloody chest. She reached with her healing bending. She found his heart and coaxed it to beat. Again and again she did this, but every time she thought it would beat on its own it would stop. Finally, panting with the effort, she sat back, heaving a strangled sob. The boy lay still. Tattered and dead. He had been her age.

She felt a hand close over her shoulder. She looked up. Her father stood above her, his eyes fixed on hers. She stood and he gathered her into his arms for a moment. Only a moment, because Kita knew she had to help others live where she had failed with Noruq. Her father let her go and she moved away, as he did. He went back and sat with the less injured, but he kept watching her. A silent sentinel. His gaze made her feel stronger for the first time that she could remember.

The chaos seemed to last forever. Kita was bloody, sweaty and so exhausted she thought she might just fall over when she finally got to her father. The wounded had stopped coming in and the healers were able to catch up. Kita knelt and pressed her hands wearily over her father's bandages. “Dad, Noruq said that Chief Tonraq had been captured,” she reported urgently. “I forgot about it in the heat of the moment, but we need to tell the other warriors.”

“The warriors know,” her father's voice was low.

“How do you know that?” Kita asked.

“Because I was with them.”

“You...?” she almost caused him damage rather than healing in her surprise. She hastily jerked her hands away before she could harm him. “You what?”

“I went with the warriors. Several non-benders did. Don't give me that look, Kita. You can fight for your people even if you don't have bending. In fact, the benders are too confident because of their gift. How do you think poor Noruq was so gravely injured while I was only scratched? He charged in when he should not have.”

“This is more than a scratch. And there is spirit magic in the wound,” Kita said, her brows coming together. “You should not have gone, Father,” she snapped.

“You would have if you had been in my place,” he answered, sitting up straight. Maybe even proudly. “I was of no use to anyone around the camp. You'd found your place here,” he gestured to the healing hut. “I saw people who needed my help so I went. But Unalaq was ready this time. The warriors' usual tricks didn't work. We were routed and cut down. Our chief was captured.”

“We have to get him back,” Kita said, as her father's wound knit itself together beneath her hands.

“We don't have the troops right now. Look at us,” he gestured to the full healing hut.

Kita bit down on her lip. She felt deeply angry that her father had gone off without telling her, but she didn't have a leg to stand on in that argument. She would have done the same. No question. She was pondering it even now. Master Katara could fight. Perhaps the women could take Unalaq by surprise with an attack of their own? Her mind was so lost in these thoughts she barely registered when someone called Master Katara urgently from outside.

She looked up as the doors opened again and there stood the avatar with masters Tenzin, Kya and Bumi. Tenzin was holding something in his arms. Kita gasped when she realized what it was. A little girl. One of Tenzin's daughters, judging by the air nomad garb. “Go,” Kita's father urged her. He must have seen his daughter's concern and eagerness to help.

Kita drew closer, followed by a few other healers. The little girl looked sick and pale. Her breath was slow and shallow, like one in a deep slumber. Kita watched Master Katara for a signal. She heard Tenzin's deep voice explaining, “her soul is trapped in the spirit world.”

Kita gasped. She had read of this happening in some of the texts her teacher had given her. She had never believed she would see someone who had been stricken with such a thing. Master Katara's voice was full of concern. “Oh my goodness! How long has she been away?”

“Almost a week,” Kya spoke then. “I have tried to keep her energy flowing, but I can feel her slipping away. You're the only one who can help her now, Mom.” There was desperation in the tough looking woman's blue eyes.

“Bring her this way, quickly!” Master Katara bustled the group through the hut to a special room in the back. Kita had never been shown what was inside. She wanted to follow, but Katara called for no other healers.

Kita found herself staring at the closed door through which the little girl had been carried. She felt a shiver run through her that was not from cold. Spirit magic in the wounds of the soldiers. Now a child trapped in the spirit world. How could they come out of this one? Would this be the end of her home? Her tribe? Her world?

She turned to see the front door to the healing hut still open. Everyone had been so concentrated on the child that it had been left ajar. Kita strode across to close it, and as she did she glanced outside. She found herself instantly captured by a familiar pair of bright green eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7  


Bolin took the stairs to the healing hut two at time. He almost knocked Kita over with the force of his urgency as he reached her. He grabbed her upper arms, looking her up and down with concern. “Where are you hurt? What did this?”

Kita's mind was slow to catch up. Too much had happened in a day and she was weary to the bone. Finally her foggy brain figured out why the young man was so alarmed. “It's not my blood,” she said, her voice very quiet. “It's not mine,” she said again, louder, when Bolin kept looking her over. She glanced past the earthebender to the people waiting below. His brother, Mako and some others. Asami, was that her name? And the man...the soldier, Bumi? “The avatar came back,” Kita said, the realization finally hitting her. Her face brightened as she looked up into Bolin's. “We're going to be okay!” She threw herself into his arms.

~~~~~

Bolin stepped back in surprise as Kita's weight hit him. She nestled into the front of his coat and it was the best, warmest feeling he could remember. Better than when he and Mako had slept in a warm bed after ages on the street. Better than when he had found Pabu. He wrapped his arms around the girls shoulders and soaked it in. His nose was in her hair, smelling spice and blood and sweat, and he loved it. Then he looked up to see the shocked and angered face of Kita's father, who had clearly followed her outside.

Bolin gently extracted Kita from his arms, also feeling Mako's stare on his back. “Ah...Mr Torq. Nice to see you again. I was just...Kita, she...” he stopped when he caught the look still shining in the man's eyes. The look of a father contemplating the murder of a young man who dared to hug his daughter like that.

“Daddy?” Kita turned to look at her parent. “Dad, the Avatar is back! We're going to be alright!”

“Not necessarily,” said Mako.

Bolin wanted to hiss “not helpful” to his brother, but didn't. Instead he tried to put on a convincing smile. “She is. We are. Uhm...Kita, can I maybe talk to you somewhere else?”

She was standing very close to him, though they were no longer hugging. He was still concerned about the amount of blood on the front of her clothes. Her face was pale, and beads of sweat still stood out, even in the cold. He wondered if she was ill. Kita shot a glance back towards the healing hut. “I...I might be needed inside.”

“We'll meet later then? Before we-” he hesitated. He knew later that day they would attempt an attack on Unalaq's base. He had no idea how they would make that happen, but he assumed that Korra had a plan. Or Tenzin. Surely the wise airbender would know what to do.

“I think she'll be busy all day,” Torq answered for his daughter. He put a hand on Kita's shoulder.

The girl shrugged off her father's grip. “Dad, it's fine. The rush is over. I've got a few more healing tasks and then the wounded need to rest and so do the healers. I'll finish up and talk to Bolin then.”

Torq did not look pleased, but Bolin was glad when the man did not argue, merely grunted and walked back inside. “Meet me behind the hut in a few hours?” Bolin asked hopefully. She looked back at him and he was overwhelmed with a feeling of fondness. He wasn't certain where it had come from. He barely knew this girl, after all, but here she was. And she seemed happy to see him. Sometimes Bolin could count on one hand the number people who were happy to see him. Most people seemed indifferent to him. It felt nice to be wanted. But then, maybe her blue eyes were only filled with so much relief because he came with the Avatar. The one who was supposed to save her tribe. Bolin decided to step back, instead of grabbing her hand as he desperately wanted to.

Kita watched him, her expression complex. Then she nodded and turned, walking wearily back into the hut. Bolin stood there for several moments, staring at the closed door, until his brother got his attention. “What was that?”

Bolin walked down to rejoin his companions. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Her name is Kita.”

“And you hugged her, a lot,” Asami pointed out, eyebrow raised. “You know her?”

“Yes, I know people,” Bolin snapped, feeling confused and annoyed. “Is that such a surprise? I have a life outside of being a sidekick to the Avatar, you know!”

Everyone just stared at him. Mako cleared his throat. “She seems nicer than Eska, anyway.”

Before Bolin could reply that Kita was to Eska what a warm day was to a sudden freeze, Tenzin, Kya and Korra came back out of the healing hut. Bolin watched Tenzin's face, hoping to see some sign that the fabled Master Katara had been able to help Jinora. Bolin's heart fell when he saw the look in the airbender's eyes. A hollowness that was making its home there, and was apparently in for a long stay.

“I talked to the rebels,” Korra informed the group. “They say that Unalaq has got the Southen Portal surrounded. Harmonic Convergence is only a few hours away.”

“Then we have to break through the enemy lines ourselves and get to the portal now!” Tenzin's voice was curt as ever.

“There's no use in talking it over. We know what our mission is,” Korra agreed with her mentor.

“A suicide mission,” Bolin muttered. He for one thought that talking about it might be a very good idea. All these half baked plans and improvising were not his favorite thing. He wished for once they would have a well formulated, thought out, strategy. 

As if on cue Bumi piped up with one of his war stories. Everyone, Bolin included, stared at the solider as he recounted a tale of sand benders and an airdrop with the aid of a catapult and hog-monkeys. Bolin would have chuckled, but he saw the expression on Tenzin's face. The twitch of the normally sage man's eyebrow meant a rare outburst was coming, and it was best to stand clear. “Enough of your ridiculous lies!” the airbender roared at his brother, “Cant you see that the fate of the world, and Jinora's life, depends on what we do here today?!”

“Hold on, maybe Bumi's right,” Asami spoke tentatively. Bolin gave her a skeptical glance. Bumi's stories were fun, but where were they going to get a giant catapult and hog-monkeys? “We have a flying Bison, and there's a plane on Varrick's ship,” the entrepreneur explained.

Bolin didn't like where this plan was going. This sounded like flying. Not that he minded riding on the flying bison, but was she suggesting that they might be jumping from said bison? From up in the sky? He felt a chill rattle down his spine which had nothing to do with the harsh wind that wrapped itself around the group. Asami laid out the plan further and Bolin could feel a pit forming in his stomach. He wasn't liking the sound of this. Maybe now wasn't the time for a well thought out strategy. Maybe now was the time to just sit tight and see what happened. Perhaps that was just the earthbender in him talking. The desire to hold steady, then strike when the moment was exactly right. All this taking the fight to the enemy, business, was not his forte.

Of course Korra loved the plan. He knew how she thought. Korra was alwaysiving in the moment. Always feeling her emotions acutely and acting on them without hesitation. Was that a waterbender thing? Maybe it was a Korra thing. “Everyone get read to go. I want to leave in an hour,” the Avatar barked.

Bolin swallowed. Not only was he not mentally prepared for this mission, but he hadn't had his talk with Kita yet. Should he run off on her again? Leave her another note? It would be a lot easier, but he didn't want to. Maybe it was that hug, but he wanted to talk to her now, more than anything. Especially as he was likely about to die on this crazy, Korra mission.

~~~~~

Kita sat on the edge of a bed, her hand resting on the broken arm of a soldier. Her mind was such a rush of weariness and confusion that she was barely able to focus on mending the bone. Several times her mind drifted. Her thoughts following his blood as it ran, like a calming river, through his veins. The steady thrum of the man's heartbeat was soothing. She tried not to think about Noruq. How she had felt his heart stop again and again. How she could not keep it beating.

“Kita?”

At first she thought she was going to be scolded for taking so long. “I'm almost finished,” she said, squeezing her eyes tight shut and concentrating. The bone knit itself willingly together and she sighed, looking up. The healer who had addressed her was standing with Bolin. Kita's eyes grew wide with surprise. “I thought we weren't meeting until later.”

“We should talk now. Korra and Asami have a crazy plan to attack Unalaq's base and the portal, so we have to talk now before I...go and try not to die.”

“What?” Kita stood up so fast she knocked over a bowl and several people stared at her. She blushed, then addressed her fellow healer, “I've repaired this man's arm, I'm going to have a quick chat with my friend now.” Her tone was so matter-of-fact that the other healer didn't question her.

“Here, back here,” Kita said, taking Bolin by the wrist and pulling him into one of the isolation rooms. A soldier was sleeping in the cot within. “He had a head wound,” Kita explained when Bolin gave her a concerned look. “We healed it, but he needs rest. He won't bother us.” None the less Kita spoke in a whisper. The sound of the man's gentle breathing calmed her somewhat as she strode across the small room, then turned to face Bolin. She wasn't sure what to do or say.

Bolin didn't seem certain either. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, only meeting her eyes for a few seconds before looking at his boots. “You're sure you're okay?” he mumbled shyly.

“Yes,” she felt the corners of her mouth pull into a slight smile. “The blood is just from healing so many people today. I haven't have time to tidy up.” For a moment her tired mind panicked. What was her hair doing? It must look like a rat-lizard nest! She tried not to think about it. “So...you were back in Republic City being a mover star?” This was a silly thing to ask about, she realized after the words had left her lips. With all this impending doom what was she doing asking about his career in films?

“Yeah,” he looked up for a bit longer, a goofy, lop-sided smile on his face. “You heard about that eh?”

“On the radio,” she nodded. Man, this was awkward. Why was this so awkward? They were friends, meeting again. Clearly just friends. But he had held her awfully tightly before. Maybe... no, there were far more important things to think about than that right now. She chewed her lip in frustration. If only her foggy mind would focus for a few seconds instead of tap dancing all over the place. “Was it good to be home in the city?”

“It was,” Bolin nodded. “Though it comes with some bad memories too. Being poor. Being cold and hungry. I made more money as a mover star than I have in my entire life!”

Kita sat on an empty cot, leaning forward, hands on her knees. “Really? What did you do with all that money?” she asked, genuinely curious. She had often day dreamed about what she would do if she was rich.

“At first I bought a whole lot of neat things. Like a hot tub. That was pretty awesome,” Bolin's smile was more natural now. Kita felt her own smile threatening again. “It was a lot like those hot springs we saw when we first met. Well, not when we first met because that time you knocked me over into the snow.”

“Are you ever going to forgive me for that?” Kita asked, folding her arms while trying, and failing, to look serious.

“No,” Bolin too attempted to adopt a stern expression. It only made him look more comical. “I think you permanently injured my...whatever bone this is,” he gestured vaguely towards his backside.

Kita giggled. When she did she saw Bolin's face light up and he stepped a little closer to her. She felt her face grow warm and she wasn't sure why. “You're such a big baby.”

“Says you,” Bolin snorted exaggeratedly.

Kita scooted over on the cot and Bolin got the hint, as she had been hoping. He sat down beside her, their shoulders touching. They didn't look at each other for a long moment. “So, a dangerous mission huh? To take on Unalaq? I had been hoping that the Avatar would bring back an army. We were counting on it, actually.”

“Sorry, no army,” muttered Bolin. He did sound genuinely sorry, as though it was his fault that the army was not with him. “Even after I saved the president of the Republic, they still wouldn't risk going to war with the tribes.”

“You what?” Kita turned to look at him then, eyes wide.

Bolin told her a story of how he had been at the premier of his latest and greatest Mover, and how someone had tried to kidnap the president. He had fought off the foe using his earthbending skills, all while his hero-self was on the big screen behind him. He got up to act out some of the more exciting parts, and Kita was on the edge of her seat. When he finished she clapped quiety, “that sounds so exciting! You really are a hero!”

“I think I just realized that I had to get my head back in the game and stop being such a snob,” he admitted, shrugging and striding back across to sit beside her again. The warmth from his shoulder felt so nice, Kita thought. She wished she could lean her head against it, but didn't. She wasn't certain why. She felt shy around him now. She had felt confident around him before. She had kissed him, hadn't she. That was pretty confident. Maybe it was his leaving. Maybe that had made her a little more angry than she cared to admit. Perhaps her disgust for her father over the letter had stopped her from feeling her annoyance with being left behind. It seemed like everyone else in the world got to go wherever they wanted. She stayed trapped.

“So you stopped being a snob?” Kita asked, cautiously.

“I hope so,” she felt Bolin shrug again. “For a while there I was in a bad place. I let the fame go to my head, and I think I liked being the special brother a little too much. I forgot about what was important. And that things were going on in other parts of the world. Bad things.” he glanced sideways at her, a guilty expression on his face.

“You forgot about us?” Kita's voice was tiny. She wasn't certain she had been heard because he didn't answer at first.

“I didn't forget you. I just...got distracted. I felt like time stopped everywhere else in the world while I was there, making a name for myself. In the end I didn't even care about that name after all. And then Varrick got arrested, like I told you in my story, and he didn't even give me my last paycheck. Of course, by then I had thought a lot about it and I wasn't happy there. Maybe I never was. So I sold my hot tub and gave the money to the best orphanage in town, then we headed out here. Seems like we were a little late though.”

“Seems like it,” Kita could not keep the bitterness from her voice.

“But we're here now,” Bolin sounded hopeful. “We have a plan, and we're going to stop the Harmonic Convergence and save your people.”

“The Harmonic what?” Kita raised an eyebrow. Was this something important? Why didn't people ever tell her things? Then again, maybe someone had, and she had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts, as usual, to pay attention.

“You know,” Bolin admitted, “I don't really understand it either. Something bad to do with the spirits. That's all I know.”

“I see,” Kita nodded as though she really did see, which was not true. “So you're going to go try this dangerous plan, and if it fails?”

“I'm not actually sure,” Bolin sighed. “People are always so vague about that.”

“Well,” Kita felt her cheeks warming again and her heart give a little flutter. “Be careful, okay? I uh...I want to see you again after this is all over. We can have a proper talk.” She didn't look at Bolin, but she could sense his muscles tense.

“I'll be careful,” Bolin said quietly.

“Kita!” someone was calling her.

Kita sighed, standing stiffly. Bolin's hand was suddenly under hers, helping her up. She almost jumped she was so startled. His hand was warm and strong. Her heart did another dance. “I have work to do,” she left her hand resting in Bolin's for a moment and titled her head up to meet his gaze. She had forgot those eyes. How impossibly green they were. The way they looked at her, differently from how anyone else looked at her. Like they saw all of her. Then he lifted her hand from his, “I'll see you after your dangerous mission?” she asked, folding her hands behind her back.

“You will,” he said, so firmly she believed him.

“Alright then,” she grinned, feeling a little floaty. Maybe it was dehydration. She turned, unwillingly, and went to find out who had called her, and for what reason.

~~~~

Bolin stood in the doorway of the isolation room, watching her walk away, weaving amongst the people she had healed. He admired waterbenders who could heal. Eartherbending wasn't useful like that. All he could do was hit people. His eyes were captivated by the grace with which she moved, like a river wending around its banks, even as tired as she was.

“Hey kid,”

Bolin jumped, turning to see that the man with the head wound was awake and looking at him. “Yes sir?”

“Why the heck didn't you kiss that girl?”


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

 

Kita felt raw. Used up. She had managed a quick nap before someone had shaken her awake and informed her that Bolin and the others had likely failed in their mission to rescue the captured Chief Tonraq. Now she sat, like a dead thing, staring at one of the seal-fox pelts on the wall. Her mind was washing over and over like waves against a cold shore, but her body was motionless.

Lily walked by carrying an armload of fresh bandages. She kicked Kita's legs out of her way. “What's wrong with you, lazy girl?” she growled, setting her load down in a waiting basket. She placed her hands on her hips and glared.

Kita was only half awakened from her reverie by the older girl's kick. “I uh...I just...”

“Is this about that boy? I saw you making mooney eyes at that earthbender friend of the Avatar. You know he's probably fine, right? Avatar Korra is with him.”

“You're probably right,” Kita mumbled, trying to unjumble her thoughts. Why was she so worried? Certainly she liked Bolin. She had kissed him after all. He was a good friend, if nothing else. Her mind wouldn't stop showing her Noruq's mangled body, but with Bolin's face. His bright eyes grey with death. The thought made her tumble farther away from reality.

Lily snapped her fingers in front of Kita's face, plopping down on the bench beside her. “Earth to annoying girl! Stop wallowing! You aren't helping that boy by moping around when you don't even know if he's hurt or not.”

“Bolin.”

“Huh?”

“His name is Bolin,” Kita's eyes focused again, taking in the healing hut, still full to bursting with wounded, though new had finally stopped coming in.

“Bolin, right, whatever. He's probably just fine and here you are acting like he's already dead. Trust me, you may have special healing powers, but you're not magic. You can't just sense when someone you like is dead. Now stop moping and make yourself useful to these people right here,” Lily gestured to the men on the many cots, filling up the room so that the healers barely had paths to walk around them.

Kita raised her eyes and across the room she saw her father. He was seated against the wall on a bench just like hers. He was avoiding her eyes. She clenched her hands into fists, grabbing up a handful of her tunic. She glanced towards Lily, who was giving her a no-nonsense glare. “Fine,” Kita exhaled. She rose stiffly, as if she had aged several decades in the time she had been sitting there.

“Good. We don't need any dead weight around here,” Lily nudged Kita in what she was sure was supposed to be a playful gesture, even as Kita flinched at Lily's choice of words.

Kita wove her way across the room to her father. He couldn't help but look at her as she stopped before him, planting her own hands on her hips, adopting Lily's pose. “You're not seriously injured you know. You can go home.”

“Some of my men are here,” her father said.

Kita blinked. It hadn't occurred to her that he might be in charge of people. She glanced at the nearby patients. “They're resting,” she said, feeling annoyed for some reason. “You can go.”

“My daughter is here,” he said, and this time she looked away. Her boots were suddenly fascinating. “Kita...” He hunched his shoulders and tilted his head so he was in her view again. “What is it? What is making you so upset? Is it the Avatar?”

“They said she must have failed in her mission. Their plane was shot down.” Kita sighed, hugging herself.

Her father reached up and forced her arms away from her body, pulling her down to sit beside him. Suddenly she was overcome with his father smell, and how strong and protective he seemed. She hadn't felt this way about him since her mother had died. He's been a mountain of strength in those days. How had she forgotten that? She let her head rest against his shoulder, feeling his long hair, the same dark color as her own, tickle her face. He reached across himself and pulled one of her hands into his lap to hold it. “I know you are worried about that boy. Bolin.”

“You remembered his name?”

“Of course. I only pretend to forget these things. I'm old, but not that old.”

“You don't like him.” Her words were a statement of fact.

“I hate any boy who likes my daughter the way he likes you,” Torq chuckled.

“What do you mean?” Kita sat up slightly, looking at the profile of her father's face. Sharp, roman nose, assertive brow, well defined jaw. He was handsome, she guessed, even if there was some gray in his beard.

“You know what I mean,” his eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “You know exactly. And I assure you that I don't approve...but I seriously doubt that will stop you. My disapproval has never stopped you from doing anything.”

“It usually encourages me,” Kita admitted, smiling herself and snuggling against her parent again. “I'd say I was sorry, but that would be a lie.”

This made him snort with laughter and put his arm around her for an awkward, one armed squeeze. “Kita...I don't tell you enough that-”

The door to the healing hut flew open again and two figures were framed black against the world of white behind them. Kita sprang up, healer's instincts kicking into high gear. She squinted as the two newcomers entered, one clearly supporting the other. “Asami?” Kita gasped as she recognized the closer of the two first. Then Kita's eyes opened even wider, “Chief Tonraq!” She spoke too loudly, but anyone who had not been paying attention was now peering towards the door.

The young woman was supporting an obviously wounded Tonroq into the hut. Healers rushed to take their leader and guide him to one of the few remaining cots. Kita pushed forward with the rest, but quickly realized that now there were too many of them all focused on one patient. Lily shoved Kita back, then gave her a nod which Kita didn't understand in that moment. Kita turned to Asami, who stood to the side, looking weary, but victorious. “The Avatar?” she questioned, unable to bring herself to ask about Bolin specifically.

“We were captured in Unalaq's camp, but Bumi got us out,” Asami explained. “Then we went to the portal, but Korra decided it would be best for me to take her father and come back here.”

“What are they going to do?” Kita asked, struggling to hide the desperation in her voice.

“Bumi, Kya and Tenzin are going to find Jinora while Bolin, Mako and Korra are going to try to close the portal before it is too late.”

Kita turned on her heel and headed for the door. This was all she needed to hear. She has almost made it before her father intercepted her. “Where are you going?”

“They're in trouble. I'm not needed here. I'm going to help.” Kita said, her voice as biting as the ice that was already creeping up her fingertips as she waterbent without thinking.

Her father squared his shoulders, looking down at his only child. She wondered if she would have a physically move him to get him out of her way. At this point she was willing to. She knew her father loved her, but when she set her mind to something there was little that could stand in her path. Torq heaved a mighty sigh, his shoulders going slack. He reached for his belt and took a whale bone knife from its sheath. “Here. Remember to use your head, not only your bending. I raised a girl with a head on her shoulders. A stubborn, willful one, but-”

Kita threw her arms around his shoulders in a hug-tackle, then let go in almost the same motion and rushed out the door. Outside she was completely blinded by the white of the sunshine on the snow. She staggered, tugging her coat around herself. Her eyes streamed with tears as she blinked and tried to force herself to see. She made out the shapes of Tenzin's sky bison, and beside him, “Naga!” Kita called to the polar bear-dog. The large animal raised her head and made a snuffling sound.

Kita had considered the bison, but she had never flown one before and this would be a bad time to learn. Kita had taken dog riding lesson as a child, however, even as her father had fretted that she might fall off and break something. “What do you say, Naga, should we go help your master?”

Naga pricked up her ears and sniffed Kita thoroughly, then huffed again and turned to allow the young woman access to the saddle. Kita swung up onto the creature's broad back, taking hold of the reins, which were really more of a formality with a polar bear-dog. “Let's go, Naga! Find Korra!”

The animal took for with far more motivation than Kita had expected and she almost flew off. Soon, however, she got used to the loping stride of her mount. She fixed her eyes on the spirit portal, which stood like a pillar of white fire from sky to earth. It looked so near, but she knew she would have to ride through a forest to reach it. She hunched lower along the sleek animal's back as Naga put on another burst of speed.

~~~~

Bolin hit the ground with his shoulder, hearing a crack he was reasonably certain was not a good sound. His wind was knocked from him in a pained a huff. His brother was beside him in an instant, standing protectively over him. “I don't know if we can win this fight,” Bolin groaned as he took his feet again.

“We don't need to win, we just have to keep Unalaq from getting back into the spirit world,” Mako said, his body already tense in a fighting stance.

Bolin could feel heat rolling off of his sibling as they stood, back to back before the glowing portal. The evil waterbender they were defending against was playing a crafty game, shooting deadly ice shards at the two of them, then moving to a new vantage point. Not allowing himself to be spotted. Bolin heard the sound of branches being sliced, and he turned, instinctively raising a stone barrier. His quick action saved the brother from being impaled. They made brief eye contact as they waited in the lull that followed for their enemy's next attempt.

A long while passed. Bolin took the time to erect several points of cover for his brother and himself all around the portal. Then they crouched, muscles becoming tight with the cold and the waiting. Bolin kept peeking over the top of his rock. “Would you stop it?” Mako scolded, his voice tight, testy. “He's probably waiting for you to do that again and then he'll take your head off with a big chunk of ice.”

“It's been so long,” Bolin almost whined. He didn't like being on edge like this. It was at complete odds with his easy going nature. He shot a look at the firebender. Knowing Mako he was probably enjoying this. He was so uptight. Sometimes Bolin just wanted to tell him to unclench for ten minutes. “Maybe he went home,” the earthbender attempted a joke.

“Hello,” a face popped around the side of Bolin's rock, “my feeble turtle-duck.”

Bolin was not proud of the sound he made as Eska's rush of water took him down. Desna moved in and dealt swiftly with Mako, pushing the brothers together. Just as Bolin was trying to collect some very scattered thoughts and stand up, a larger blast of water smashed both of them to the side, winding Bolin so badly that everything went black.

He was vaguely aware of Unalaq walking past him. “don't let them escape this time,” he heard the man say to his obedient offspring. Bolin wished he could clear his thoughts enough to shout to the twins. Already Korra had tried to convince them that what their father was doing was a mistake. Desna had seemed to weaken, but Eska...oh Eska. She was like stone that the water crashed against. Her mind wouldn't be changed.

Then Bolin felt someone grab the back of his coat and begin dragging him. His mind was slowly clearing and he opened his eyes fractionally. Enough to cut a glance towards his sibling. Mako's bright eyes spoke as clearly as words might have. After a lifetime of surviving on the streets with only one another for protection, the two could communicate with the smallest motions.

Mako acted fist, pivoting free from Desna's grip and using the motion to carry himself upright and bend fire at the same time. He turned and sent Eska recoiling with a blast of flame as Bolin scrambled free.

Bolin's movements were less graceful and more efficient, the hallmark of an earthbender, as he sent their attackers leaping back with two large rocks. The brothers dove into the portal. Half a second later they leaped out into the purplish haze of the spirit world. Mako caught sight of Korra before Bolin did, but he followed his brother's golden eyes to her prone form on the ground. They ran towards her, hearing Eska shout after them as the twins came through the portal as well. “Stop!” Bolin's ex commanded.

Bolin felt a sudden cold and his movements were halted mid stride. He was unable to even wiggle a finger as the twin's ice trapped him. It barely left room for his lungs to expand and it was so cold his body heat did not begin to melt it. He would have shivered, if he had had the room. He hoped that Mako, as a firebender, was working on a plan to free himself. Bolin wouldn't even have been worried, if he hadn't seen the avatar's limp form only moments before. He struggled to keep his eyes fixed on his friend as the dark, kite-like spirit of Vaatu loomed low, then swept in towards the waiting figure of Unalaq. It was difficult to see because Eska's ice prison forced Bolin's chin up at a painful angle, but he made out arching, purple lighting heading for the man. Then there was a horrible sound, part roar, part scream. Bolin didn't need to try to see what was happening any more. He could see the look on Desna's face. Not mere terror, but a look of betrayal. As though he had been promised something beautiful and received this instead.

Korra was on her feet again, ready for battle. “I am the new avatar!” crowed Unalaq, his body spiraling upward on a tower of water and dark spirit magic.

“I'm the old avatar,” Korra countered, her voice as fierce as Bolin had ever heard it, “and my era's not over yet!” The two clashed together with a blast of light so bright that Bolin was momentarily blinded. He wished he was able to turn his head away. He heard Mako grunt with discomfort beside him.

Bolin felt himself moving and realized that the twins were pulling them back out of the spirit world. He couldn't help but wonder if they were being protected. Certainly Desna and Eska did not want to linger in a place where two gods were essentially trying to murder one another, but they would not have had to bring the brothers with them. Whatever their reasoning, Bolin was grateful, even if he was still thoroughly trapped in the ice.

~~~~

Kita managed to stop the polar bear-dog's headlong charge what she judged was a safe distance from the portal. “Stay here, girl,” she urged the creature, gesturing with her hands in hopes that it would make her desire even clearer. To her relief Naga play down, and put her head on her paws, though she did shoot Kita a very baleful look. “I won't be long. I promise. I just think this part needs a stealthier touch,” she said, stepping quietly away and wondering why she was bothering to explain herself to a dog.

She kept low, creeping through the trees. It was rare to see trees in this area, and she paused a for moment with her hand on resting on a trunk. She found that, as with humans, she was able to sense the life force in this tree. She could also detect spirit magic flowing with the tree's life. They were so entwined that Kita knew she could got get them apart, even if she concentrated her hardest. The spirit magic must keep the trees here alive, she realized as she pressed on. Ahead of her, at the portal, she could make out voices. She recognized the first to speak as Mako, Bolin's older brother.

“Please, let us go,” he said.

Desna's voice came next. He sounded amused. “His groveling is pathetic.”

Eska's voice followed, “but I do enjoy the sweet scent of desperation.”

Kita crept closer until she was able to see them. The brothers were trapped in large blocks of ice, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Desna and Eska stood before them, their passive eyes fixed on their prisoners. Good, Kita thought. They had no idea she was there.

“Come on,” Mako tried again, “your dad has become an evil monster!”

Kita flinched. It was too late to stop Unalaq from melding with Vaatu, it seemed. She had hoped that the avatar would be able to stop him before it got this far, but from the look of the two boys, the task had not been an easy one. She wondered what had become of Tenzin and his siblings.

“He's trying to bring on eternal darkness!” Mako pressed on. “Why would you try to protect someone who doesn't care about you at all?”

Kita could make out the faces of the twins now, as she slowly circled, looking for the best place to launch her attack. Eska's expression was stoney as ever, but Desna's brows came together for a moment. “Father was going to...let me expire when we tried to open the Northern portal,” the prince pointed out. “Perhaps we should rethink our position.”

“Yes!” Mako encouraged.

“No,” Eska snapped. “Don't listen to him. His words are poisoning your mind.”

Desna seemed to heed her words and his face became impassive and blank again. Kita scowled. How could these two continue to be blinded by their father's evil? She decided she was in as good of a position as she was going to be. She only hoped that the twins' were sufficiently distracted by Mako's efforts to reason with them. She raised her hands to shoulder height, palms downward, focusing on the blocks of ice in which Mako and Bolin were trapped. She dropped her hands with a sharp motion and the ice turned to water and fell away from the brothers.

Bolin and Mako reacted quickly. Mako was the first to move as the earthbender seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second. Kita charged in to join them as Desna sent ice shards flying towards Bolin. He jerked his arm expertly and a rock emerged from the ground to protect him. He crouched behind it for a moment and Kita slid in beside him. His eyes went huge when he saw her. His mouth hung open as though he intended to speak, but his words had left him faster than Mako's fire blasts escaped their caster's hands.

“Little help?!” Mako shouted.

“Sorry!” Bolin called back, launching several small rocks at Desna's head, forcing the young man to duck instead of sending a rush of frigid water into Mako's back. “Look who's here! It's Kita!”

“Who?” Mako turned to look and recognition dawned in his eyes. Kita had to act quickly, redirecting a gush of water sent by Eska.

The water tribe princess roared with rage when she saw Kita. “YOU! You boyfriend stealing hussy!”

“Hussy?” Bolin asked as he dodged behind one of his rock barriers, then stamped his foot to cause Desna to trip several feet away.

Kita shrugged, an impish smile on her face. She had a difficult time keeping up with the frenzied tempo of the battle. Mako and Bolin seemed so at home blocking, dodging and dealing out attacks. Kita could only seem to concentrate on one thing at a time. As a result boy boys had had to come to her aid more than once, and she was starting to wonder if she was more of a hindrance than a help. She was best at grabbing the twins' attacks out of the air and redirecting them harmlessly into the trees.

Suddenly she felt a rush of cold as ice enclosed her body. She had time to squeak before her mouth was covered. The ice pressed in hard around her. “STOP!” Eska's voice echoed harshly.

The brothers halted their attacks and took in the scene. Mako readied his fire, but seemed unsure. Could he melt Kita free without burning her? She wasn't sure, and clearly neither was he. Eska squeezed her more tightly until Kita's ribs screamed in protest.

“No!” Bolin's voice had a ragged edge to it. Kita wondered if it was from exhaustion, or something else. “Let her go, Eska!”

“It's too late, my little turtle-duck,” the princess glowered at the earthbender. “You have damaged my heart. You left me at the alter!” Kita's eyebrows went up. This was new information. She cut a look towards Bolin, which was all she could do, as ensconced in ice as she was. “Perhaps,” the woman's tone softened slightly, “you were afraid of your true feelings for me?” she was giving him an out.

Bolin's fists tightened. “No, Eska. You and I are too different. I'm sure there's a guy out there for you. One who likes to be told what to do and where to go, but that's not me, Eska. I'm sorry.”

For a moment Kita thought the ice around her was going to loosen. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Mako trying to get a better angle to attack one of the twins. She wished she could shake her head, because Desna was watching intently. Then the waterbending brother's eyes fell on Kita's and recognition dawned in them. He knew her. He remembered how she had healed him that day, after his father had left him for dead. She held his gaze, trying to communicate with only her eyes. Then Eska tightened the ice. If Kita had been able to yell out she would have. A tear broke free and ran down her cheek.

“No!” Bolin shouted and rocks erupted from under the snow, but before he could send them towards the twins Kita felt the ice around her fall away in a rush of water.

“Enough,” Desna's voice was clear and full of authority. He strode towards his sister, arms raised to waterbend. He shot a sideways glance towards Kita as he moved to stand between her and Eska, who now only looked baffled. “I have had enough, sister. Again and again I am assured that our father is right. That what he's doing is the best thing, but I never see it. How many times am I going to look at the man who is supposed to love me, and realize he doesn't, before I figure it out? How many times will you? He left me for dead.” The young man's tone was filled with venom. “This girl healed me. I could look into her eyes and see more caring that I do in our father's! I have had enough!”

Eska blinked. Clearly this was more words than she had heard her brother string together in a long time. She struggled to keep her face its usual, uncaring, mask. Kita could see it though, as she slumped to the ground, already using her ability to assess the damage to herself (a little frostbite and a bruised rib. Nothing that she could not easily repair.) She watched the twins as Desna walked over to meet his sister and look her evenly in the eye. Finally, she dipped her head in the slightest of nods. “I understand, brother. This is larger than our petty troubles,” she turned to glare at Bolin which might have turned him to an ice cube if it was possible to waterbend with your eyes. “I would have liked to have spent eternal darkness with you, but I suppose it is not to be.”

“I suppose so,” Bolin looked baffled, but relieved.

“Go,” Desna said, turning to look at Kita with a strange sadness. “We will remain here.”

“Thank you, Desna,” Kita said. She got to her feet and walked over to the young man. He almost flinched when she touched him, but stopped himself. She pressed her hand gently to his chest, closing her eyes. In moments she had healed the few pulled and weary muscles he had sustained in the battle with Bolin and Mako. He stepped back, his face bright, and clearer than she had seen it. He dipped his head in a grateful bow, though his eyes still looked a little lost and sorrowful.

Bolin seemed to break out of a trance as he finally hurried over to Kita. “Are you alright?!” he gasped, looking her over. His cheeks shone red. Was it from the cold, or something else? “I'm fine. I already healed the few injuries that Eska gave me.”

“Good,” Bolin acted quickly, before he could think better of it. He grabbed her waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her, full on the lips. What the kiss made up for in finesse it made up in earnestness. It was the most honest, take me as I am, kiss Kita had ever received. She liked it very much, and was sad when it was over. For a moment she was trapped in the pull of Bolin's emerald eyes, which were locked on hers as though he never intended to look away. Then their spell was broken by Mako's hand on his brother's shoulder. “Come on, lover boy!”

Kita, Bolin and Mako charged into the portal together.

Kita was not prepared for the view on the other side. The avatar, locked in combat with Unalaq, the two of them towering above the battlefield on columns of water. The boys tried to charge past her, but she stopped them, pressing a hand to each of their chests of halt their progress. “Wait,” she urged them. “If you're going to be any use in battle you need to be fresh.” She focused her mind and closed her eyes. She had never healed two people at the same time before, even if their injuries were minor. Tracking the heartbeats of the two was a new rush she had never felt. She liked it, but it made it difficult to focus on her task. Carefully she loosened muscles and eased aches. This must be what playing a music instrument is like, she mused as she worked. She heard Mako let out a sound of surprise, and relief as she pulled free a particularly tough knot of muscle in his lower back. “That's been getting worse for a while now,” the young man admitted, “Bolin, keep this girl!”

“I think I will.”

Kita couldn't help it. She opened her eyes and looked fondly at the earthbender, even as a cut on his lip close flawlessly.

“I think you're ready,” the young healer stepped back. She knew her fighting skills were abysmal at best, but if she could keep the two boys in fighting shape she hoped they could be of some use. She tilted her head up as the three began to run again. The avatar was still battling away, but it didn't look like she was winning.

Kita couldn't believe what she saw next. Unalaq had Korra on the ground, and dark spirit energy seemed to be pouring from his face. Then that darkness spread to the avatar's head and pulled the light from her eyes as though it was a separate being. Kita realized that it was, and her heart gave a lurch. Vaatu, the spirit of evil, was ripping the spirit of light from within the avatar. Kita wished she could run faster, but she was not certain what she would do if she got there in time.

“Korra!” Mako shouted, putting on a burst of speed.

“He's got the light spirit!” Bolin spoke next, already leaping into the air to come down bending.

The brothers did not need to be near the combat to fight, Kita realized as she called the snow around her to become water whips along her arms. She had a plan now too. Her goal was to reach the avatar where the girl lay on the ground. If she could heal her in some way, perhaps that would help. Some plan was better than no plan at all, she reasoned, darting forward past a blast of fire from Mako. She dodged expertly, not worried that the boys would hurt her accidentally. They were too skilled, she'd seen that. Their attacks seemed to rock Unalaq for a moment and Kita doubled her speed, gasping in lungfuls of frigid air. But Unalaq rallied and before Kita knew what hit her she and the boys were thrown backwards by an avalanche of deadly ice. Kita managed to protect herself for the most part with water bending, but she was still almost completely buried in snow and ice shards.

She tried to see the boys, but the snow swirled around her too much and she had to struggle her arms free to bend it away. She could make out Mako's red scarf against the white and realized she had to make a choice. Make another dash for Korra, or go to help Bolin and Mako. She glanced sideways at Unalaq, and knew she didn't stand a chance against him. Korra was too near him, laid out at his feet. He was attacking Raava, again and again. Kita felt a tug at her heart, almost as though someone had reached inside with bending to call to her. Raava was dying, and Kita, a healer, was watching. She wavered, uncertain. Should she charge into certain death in hopes of rescuing the light spirit? She knew she would be only a minor inconvenience to Unalaq and Vaatu. A gnat to be swatted aside. Slowly, so as not to draw attention to herself, Kita made her away towards Mako.

Snow sprayed the young man as Kita slid to her knees at his side. Blood spilled from a wound on his forehead. She pressed her fingers to his brow, trying her best to focus. She could feel the small tremors in the ground as the light spirit was beaten. Her concentration slipped and she almost made the wound worse, but she managed to get herself under control. Mako's golden eyes snapped open, and he sat up swiftly. She didn't have time to check him for other injuries, he was on his feet, heading for Korra. Kita looked around swiftly. Bolin was half buried in the snow. She would have missed him if not for his dark hair.

As she landed on her knees at the earthbender's side she glanced over her shoulder towards the one-sided battle. Mako was supporting Korra, who hung limp against him, not even raising her head. Concern flooded through Kita, but she turned back to the task at hand. Triage. She didn't know the extend of Bolin's injuries. He was worse off than his sibling. A bruised rib and sprained wrist. He'd also taken a blow to the head, though this was merely a bump. She focused on waking him up. His eyes fluttered open, taking her in for a moment before looking over her shoulder and going very wide.

Kita followed Bolin's gaze and saw with horror that Raava was gone completely. Unalaq no longer looked like himself. Purple spirit energy surged from him, so strong that Kita could feel it push her hair back and sting her eyes. She flinched, but was unable to tear herself away from the scene that was unfolding. Vaatu seemed to have truly fused with the man now. He grew, twisted and inhuman, into a monstrous spirit creature. Kita gasped.

The giant spoke with a voice that Kita felt in her spine. “NOW TEN THOUSAND YEARS OF DARKNESS BEGINS!” The creature reached up into the sky, its claws seeming to tear into he fabric of the spirit world before it became lightning and vanished. Kita had the presence of mind to throw herself over Bolin to shield him as the shock wave from the giant's exit smashed into the group. And then there was nothing but cold and silence.


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9  
Brave New World

Kita didn't know where she was. Everything around her was swirling colors. Purples and reds mixed and coiled like the paints she used when making pottery. She slowly raised a hand, everything seeming to drag. To move in slow motion. She press her hand to her chest, sensing for her own heart beat. She didn't feel it. Kita did the only thing that seemed reasonable. She panicked. She kicked, she flailed, she tried to scream, but there was only color and undulating place. Then she was able to turn and spied something else. Like a round hole in the swirling colors. A window, it seemed, into a garden. She had never seen a garden. She had only read about them. It was so green it almost hurt her eyes. She kicked and swung her arms, as if she was swimming, then she stretched out her hand and as soon as her finger touched the “window” she was there, standing in the garden.

Strange trees grew tall, and then bent over, running their whip-like branches along the ground. The air smelled sweet. Flowers, she suspected, though she had had little experience with them. There was something else as well, a scent she could not identify. She couldn't even liken it to something because it was so different from anything she had ever scented before. She closed her eyes and inhaled. She wasn't worried any more about her seeming lack of heartbeat. She had guessed where she was. Did this mean she was dead? For some reason it didn't alarm her to think so.

She sat down on the protruding root of one of the big trees, leaning against lumpy bark, watching as the strange branches swayed like water in a breeze which she could not feel. Sher eyelid fluttered sleepily. What had she been doing? Wasn't there some kind of evil? A giant creature maybe? It all seemed so distant it didn't matter.

“Kita?” A soft, female voice got her attention.

She looked around for he speaker. The only thing she saw was a little animal, like a weasel or ferret. It watched her with clever, pupilless eyes which glowed a soft white. The ferret clambered up onto a root beside Kita and blinked at her. “Hello, little one,” Kita said to the spirit, “who are you?”

“This is your mother, Kita,” said a male voice this time.

Kita jerked her head up and was face to face with an old man. He was plump and smiling, and had the kindest and cleverest eyes Kita had ever seen. His presence seemed to snap her back to herself a bit. “Who are you? Where am I? Am I dead?”

“You are not dead,” said the old man in an accented voice. He tucked his hands into long sleeves and continued to smile graciously. “You were seriously injured by spirit magic. Right now your soul lingers between this world and the afterlife because you cannot truly die in the spirit world.”

“How do I get back? How do I fix it?!” Kita exclaimed, standing up urgently.

“You cannot,” said the ferret, in that same, gentle, womanly tone. It spoke without moving its lips. “Someone else must break you out of this place with healing bending.”

“But I'm the healer,” Kita protested. “If I'm here, how can I help myself? Or Bolin, or Mako?” her mind went instantly to the last moment she could remember. How she had thrown herself over Bolin to try to shield him from the wave of spirit magic that had roared towards them. Had she kept him alive, or was he too trapped like this?

“You must trust that someone else will find you,” said the old man, without any hint of worry in his voice.

“You've always had trouble relying on others,” the ferret was looking at Kita with a fond expression on its small features. It tilted its head, almost seeming to smile. “My little Kita. So willful.”

“You're my mother?” Kita raised an eyebrow at the ferret.

“It is the spirit of your mother,” the old man said, sitting down on a nearby stump which Kita could have sword had not been there moments before.

“So my mother went to the spirit world when she died and became a rodent?”

“No,” the man shook his grey head, his eyes patient. “Your mother passed on to the afterlife, but at this moment everything is a bit...confused. Because of the momentary defeat of Raava, some of the dead are able to visit the spirit world. This is a very rare opportunity.”

Kita rubbed the back of her neck, feeling tense and uneasy. Wishing she could go back to the calmness she had felt before. She looked down at the ferret, who was blinking up at her. “So, mother...how have you been.”

“I've missed you, Kita.”

“I'll bet you have,” Kita's tone was dry.

“I have,” asserted the spirit. “I have missed you and your father very much.”

Kita couldn't help it. Everything about this place seemed to make her emotions explode. Fear, comfort, anger, it had all competed, but now only anger bubbled. Words she had wanted to ask her mother in a civil tone spilled out with the rage of a betrayed child. For a moment Kita's psyche was her four-year-old self, sitting in a corner and hugging a stuffed toy as her father explained...”Why did you leave us?” she snapped.

“I couldn't help it, Kita. I died,” her mother-ferret's voice was very soothing.

Kita's emotions seemed to tint the air around her, like red paint spreading over a canvas. It was as though she was bending with her feelings rather than her body. “You could have saved yourself! You were a healer too. Dad said you had the same ability as me. I can heal myself, why didn't you?”

The ferret hung its head, glowing eyes downcast. As red light spread from Kita, blue fell away from the little creature sitting on the tree root. “I didn't know how.”

“What?”

“When I was a child, and it became clear that I had the power to heal others using their own bodies, my parents were horrified. They called it bloodbending, which I suppose it is, in a way. If I wanted to, I think I could have controlled someone using their blood. My mother and father insisted I hide my ability and I was never trained. By the time I was an adult I had forgotten how to use it. I couldn't save myself. That's why I insisted Torq find you a teacher, no matter what. Your gift is too great to extinguish.”

Kita saw the red around her lessening. Swirling away like tattered spider web to float on the un-felt breezes. “Could I have...could I have saved you?” her voice was small.

The ferret-mother made a soft sound like a purr and moved forward to curl around her daughter's leg, cuddling Kita's calf. She looked so sad and sorry that Kita picked her up, hugging the little body to herself. The spirit creature's fur was impossibly soft. “No, my dearest one, you could not have saved me. You were too young. You had no idea of your powers back then. You were untrained.”

Kita felt warm tears and saw them drip onto the creature's body. She hugged the spirit of her mother tighter, squeezing her eyes shut and freeing more tears. “Dad and I miss you so much,” she choked.

“I know. I watch over you. I always will.” Kita could almost swear she felt human arms wrap around her, and she didn't dare open her eyes to check.

“It is time to go,” this time she was certain she felt a hand, but this one touched her shoulder. When Kita opened her eyes she was hugging herself. Her mother's spirit was gone. The old man with the kind eyes had his hand on her arm and was smiling gently. “Do you feel the spirit water healing your wounds?”

For a moment Kita didn't understand what he was talking about. Then, as though someone had shot her, she felt a sharp pain in her hip. A break? She placed a hand on her own chest, and one of her hip, closing her eyes to check. This time she could sense herself. Her heart beating strong. There was something else there, however. Like oily smoke coiled around her heart. She felt panic rising again. Dark spirit magic was riding her blood. She'd seen in when she had healed Desna, only it was much worse inside her own body, and she wasn't certain she could remove this much. Then she felt a coldness; dampness on her skin. But how, when she stood, perfectly dry, beside the strange spirit tree? She opened her eyes and she was floating again in the purple space once more. Now she felt sure she was submerged in water. She closed her eyes, checking her vitals again. This time there was less spirit magic in her veins. She gasped. A skilled healer must be using spirit water, she realized. She relaxed then, letting her tense muscles to slack, almost fall into sleep.

Her eyes snapped open when she was splashed in the face. Bolin had showered her in spirit water as he sat bolt upright beside her. She sat up too, realizing Mako was on her other side. He pulled himself upright, blinking for a confused moment. Avatar Korra was the last to awaken, splashing the group again with the frigid spirit water. Kita tilted her head back and made eye contact with their healer. Kya, Katara's daughter. And with her Bumi and Tenzin.

Kita stood hastily, stepping out of the pool and extending a hand to help the boys. Tenzin aided Korra. There was deep concern in his airbender grey-brown eyes. Kita took a moment to extend her hands and sweep them downward, pulling the water away from all of their skin and clothes. She manipulated it in the air for a moment, then guided it back to the healing pool. “Thank you, Master Kya,” she said, bowing politely. She was feeling starstruck to be in the middle of this important group. The older woman gave Kita a confused glance before focusing her attention on Korra.

“Did you find Jinora?” the avatar asked.

There was worry behind the airbender's eyes, but he answered calmly. “I was able to rescue her soul, but she wasn't ready to return to her body yet. She sensed the world is in grave danger.”

Kita felt a chill run through her, even though she was free of the cold water. It had taken her mind a moment to recall what she had seen before she had been struck with the pulse of spirit magic and jerked so unceremoniously from the waking world. The monster that had towered over them. She couldn't help but agree with Jinora's assessment.

“Were you able to stop Unalaq and Vaatu?” Tenzin pressed.

Korra sat miserably on a nearby rock. Kita knew the answer to this question as well.

“No. They fused. Then Vaatu ripped Raava right out of me and destroyed her.” the avatar's voice was low and tight with sorrow. “Vaatu won.”

Bolin's voice surprised Kita. In all this tension she and the boys were pretty much ignored. “No! I am too young to live through ten thousand years of darkness! Korra, can't you talk to one of your past lives or something?!”

Korra hugged herself, looking nothing like the confident, swaggering avatar that Kita had seen before. The avatar that threatened judges. That got her way no matter how loudly she had to shout. This Korra was a shell of that other woman. “No. When Vaatu destroyed Raava, he destroyed my connection to the past avatars too.”

“If that's true then-” Tenzin didn't seem able to complete the horrible thought.

“The cycle is over,” Korra finished for him, a deadly finality in her voice. “I'm the last avatar.” Then she was crying. “I'm so sorry, Tenzin.”

Kita felt distant, as though she had suddenly realized she was somewhere she certainly did not belong. She was about to back away, to leave these people, far more important than she, to their task of saving the world. Then she felt a large, warm, hand wrap around hers. Bolin. He whispered to her, “I just found you. Ten thousand years of darkness or not, I'm not letting you go.” He wasn't looking at her, but staring ahead, as though trying to keep tears from his own eyes. His hand was so wonderful. Kita felt his strength and she let her own fingers close to grip his. If he didn't want to let go, neither would she.

Kya said something to her brother, and the airbender looking sorrowfully towards the woman who had once been the mighty Korra. He crossed to her, his voice gentle. “The other avatars may not be able to help you any more, but perhaps I can.”

“No one can help me now,” Korra muttered. Kita barely heard her.

“I know I haven't always been the best mentor to you. But I realize it was because I had a lot of spiritual growth to do, myself. There may still be a way for you to stop Vaatu.”

Korra raised her head fractionally. Kita could see just a hint of defiant light in the young woman's eyes. The same glint that Kita knew shone in her own eyes on a regular basis. She felt her own spirit rise. Defiance in the face of the impossible. Hell, defiance in the face of the sensible. She might not have much in common with the often loud, sometimes pushy avatar Korra, but she knew she had one thing. “Don't stop fighting, Korra!” she spoke before she could stop herself. “Never stop. When someone tells you you cannot succeed, find another way! Let Tenzin help you!”

Everyone was staring at her. “Who is this again?” Bumi asked.

Kita shrank back, embarrassed. Bolin squeezed her hand tighter. “This is one of the people we're saving the world for. Not just for me, or Tenzin, or the president of Republic City. For everyone. For waterbenders in the Southern Tribe. For orphans from the streets. Korra, you have to try!”

Korra turned to look into Tenzin's eyes. “How?” she asked.

The tall airbender knelt, “Let go of your attachment to who you think you are and connect with your inner spirit.”

“Haven't you heard anything I said,” the avatar looked away again. “Raava is gone. I'm not connected to a spirit any more.”

“I'm not talking about Raava,” said Tenzin, his voice firmer now. “Raava is not who you are. Come with me. I need to show you something.”

He began to walk away. For a moment Kita didn't think Korra was going to follow. Then she stood, shoulders still hunched in defeat, and followed her mentor. They made their way towards the large tree in where Kita guessed that Vaatu had once been imprisoned. She had heard stories of it growing up. Tales of the spirit world and past avatars. She watched them go, still feeling tense. No one spoke for a long moment, so she felt the need to break the eery silence. She turned to Bolin and Mako. “When you were knocked out by that spirit blast, or whatever that was, did you see anything...weird?”

“Like what?” Mako asked, golden gaze resting on her face.

“Like, I saw and old man and...and my mother.” she admitted, unable to keep eye contact with Mako any longer.

“Hey,” Bolin said, his own eyes brightening. “I saw an old guy too! He seemed really nice. We had noddles and we talked a little bit. He said I was wise.”

“Wise?” Kita leaned her shoulder against Bolin's muscular arm.

“Yeah,” the earthbender puffed himself up a little bit. “I bet you would never guess that a spirit would call me wise, huh?”

“That's not the word that comes to mind when I think of you,” Admitted Bumi, a craggy smile on his face. Like Bolin he seemed eager to laugh when situations became dire.

“He said that I don't hold on to past things. I let things go and am able to move on,” Bolin was smiling, if also sharing an expression of confusion. “I suppose I do, I just never thought about it.” He cleared his throat and did a wavering imitation of the same old man that Kita had spoken with, “you live in the now, child of the earth, and you do not dwell on sadness long. This is what makes you wise.” And then next thing I know I am waking up in a puddle with Kya healing us all and the world...ending. What about you Mako?”

“I...didn't see anything,” Mako answered. Kita caught his expression as he hastily looked down. She suspected that he was not so quick to let go of past sadness. Like she, he remembered and clung to pain at times. Had he seen their parents? Had they reassured him as Kita's mother had? She couldn't help but be glad of Bolin. She knew she needed someone who could help her focus on the present. What present they had left, ten thousand years of darkness and all.

Tenzin reemerged from the tree then, gliding down to join them on a gust of wind. He landed lightly beside his sister. “What did you tell her?” the waterbender asked, watching the tree where Korra had remained.

“I told her to meditate in the tree, as the ancients did,” Tenzin folded his arms uneasily. His impressive eyebrows rose in a peak of concern. “I hope it's enough. I know she has a lot of power within her. She is irrevocably tied to the spirit world, if only she can find a way to make use of it.

Kita watched the hole in the tree, unable to see the avatar inside. She held Bolin's hand and stood in silent worry with the group. She glanced at Kya, who had slipped her hand into her youngest brother's. Bumi stood, arms folded, looking the calmest of the bunch. Kita hoped she would be allowed to get to know them all, if only they could survive this.

“What the-?” Mako exhaled, and Kita could see what made the firebender alarmed. Out of the mouth of the tree came Korra, but it wasn't Korra. The figure glowed with an unearthly blue light. Then, as she stepped from the tangled roots, she grew steadily larger, until she was a giant.

No one seemed to know how to react, not even Tenzin. Kita wondered if this was what the spiritual teacher had intended when he had brought his student into the tree to mediate. By the look on his face she guessed that the whole giant Korra thing was wholly unexpected.

Korra, still emanating a brilliant light from her now mammoth body, stepped towards the arching portal which stretched from pole to pole in the real world, and reached up her hand to touch it. Where she touched, a point of blinding light appeared and Kita had to blink as her eyes watered from trying to look at it. Then the giant Korra was gone, her body turned to smoke and absorbed into the portal. Kita exhaled, not realizing that she had been holding her breath. Bolin's grip on her hand was getting sweaty, but she didn't mind. This was a rather stressful situation after all.

The only person to speak was Bumi, who turned to his sibling with raised eyebrows, “Er...what did you say to her exactly?”

Tenzin leaped with agile grace back up to the tree and peered inside. “As I suspected,” he called back to the waiting group, “That was Korra's spirit sending. Her body is still here, inside the tree. She has entered a deeper level of the spirit world. We will have to remain here and keep her body safe as her spirit battles with Vaatu.”

“Shouldn't be too hard,” Bumi sniffed. Then his eyes grew wide. “I may have spoken too soon.”

Kita followed the general's gaze as saw what at fist looked like a black swarm of insects moving towards them. It drew closer with alarming speed and she realized that it was spirit creatures. Corrupted ones, like the ones she had heard inhabited Unalaq's camp and swarmed the Southern Tribe's city. Her breath caught as she watched them stampede.

“They're coming for Korra!” shouted Mako, bending his knees to take up a bending stance. His expression was set and determined.

“Form a battle line!” Ordered Bumi, taking charge.

Mako attacked first, lighting arching from his fingertips. Kita was amazed. She'd never seen electricity bending in action before.

Bumi continued to organize the line shouting names as he intended for them to attack. “Tenzin! Kya! Bolin!” he glanced sideways at Kita, who nervously awaited instruction. He looked at her for a moment, then seemed to make up his mind. “You stick with me,” he said.

Kita should have been embarrassed. He had all but commanded her to stay clear of the combat. On the other hand, she knew her offensive bending was sub-par at best. He didn't know what skills she did have. He was smart to hold her back. She moved with him as he commanded his small line of fighters. “Take ground! When the spirits hit they'll push us back! We want to have a little extra ground to give up when that happens!” the non-bender shouted.

It turned out to be incredibly useful to have a commander standing back from the action. Bumi could see and catch attacks that the others in the thick might miss. “Tenzin, on your right!” Bumi bellowed. “Kya, shore up that flank! Bolin, get some rock barriers up to help Kya! Mako, watch your left, that one's sneaking past you!”

Kita stood behind Bumi's shoulder, still uncertain. She hadn't been given orders yet, so she tried to stay out of his way as the general scurried back and forth, shouting to his 'troops'. The spirits were closing in, just as he had predicted. Even with Bumi's shouted instruction the group was being forced to retreat again and again. To make their battle line smaller and smaller. Kita could tell that even exuberant Bumi was getting tense. She wished she could help. Suddenly a spirit reached a long tentacle past her. She barely managed to dodge. Instead it grabbed Bumi's leg and jerked it out from under him. He went down, his head smashing into a rock with a sound that made Kita wince. She reacted, slicing the tentacle off with a waterwhip. Mako, having seen the attack, dealt with the creature. Kita heard its death squeal as she hurriedly knelt beside Bumi.

She placed one hand on his chest and the ther on his forehead, closing her eyes and willing herself to shut out the battlefield noise. She had to trust that the others could keep the spirits back. This would be a quick heal. A patch job at best, but she couldn't let their military leader suffer brain damage. Not when they needed his mind the most. The wound was nasty. She pulled the edges of the ugly gash together before he lost more blood and set to work on the serious concussion he had sustained. She gnawed her lip, struggling for focus. She felt a burst of heat and knew Mako was protecting her as she worked.

Then Bumi's eyes snapped open and he struggled to his feet before she could urge him to move slowly. He swayed, hand to his head, then caught his balance, glancing down at the waterbender still kneeling on the ground. His face brightened. “That is a neat trick!” he beamed.

“Bumi!” shouted Kya. The spirits were pushing her section of the defensive.

“Bolin! Get over there, son!” Bumi shouted, once again stepping into his role.

Now that the general knew her talent he began to use Kita. As they fell back into a smaller and tighter line he was able to call back the wounded, one at a time, for Kita to heal as quickly as she could. It was sloppy and piecemeal work. Kita couldn't help but feel that her teacher would scold her, but this wasn't the time for lengthy healing sessions. Sometimes she used her knowledge of healing outside of her gift. She applied expert pressure to pop Tenzin's shoulder back into place when it was dislocated by a blow from a particularly large spirit. She quickly pressed her hand to the joint and easy the pain before nodded to the airbender. He nodded back, appreciative, and darted into the fray. Kita raised her eyebrows, impressed. For an older man he was still very spry. Must been an airbender thing, she mused.

The spirits pressed them back again. Now they were standing at the mouth of the tree. Kita and Bumi were already inside, back from the line, but now it hardly mattered. Kita glanced over her shoulder at Korra, still seated and motionless. “Please hurry,” she whispered to the avatar between gritted teeth.

“Bolin, fall back!” she heard Bumi shout.

Kita's heart was in her throat as she rushed to the non-bender's side, looking for Bolin's green tunic. She spotted him. He hadn't retreated back with the line, and stood by himself as the creatures closed in. For his part he was holding them off well, until one grabbed his leg and jerked him off his feet. It hauled him into the spirit ranks, far from the help of his fellows. She heard him yell and she reacted. 

“No!” Bumi's hand reached for her, but she was too quick.

Kita bounded through the gap in the battle line where Bolin had stood and darted towards him. She could just make him out amidst the writhing spirits all around him. She could hear his shouts of alarm as he tried to fight his way clear.

“Kita!” Mako had seen her go, but he didn't abandon his place.

Kita slid on her hip beneath one of the taller spirits and accidentally slammed into Bolin, knocking him over. This supposed 'save' was going extremely poorly. She coiled water around herself, using it to push her to her feet, but too many spirits were already reaching for them. Now she was going to die, as well as Bolin. She felt his back against hers and bared her teeth, ready.

Woosh! A gush of water took out several spirits. Kita's heard jerked up and she saw Desna and Eska rushing to their aide. The skilled battlers opened up a path for Kita and Bolin to retreat back to their comrades.

“What was that?” snarled Bumi, glaring at the young healer as she and the earthbender rejoined the battle line.

“A very bad plan,” Kita admitted, head hung low.

“I might have a talk with you later, missy,” Bumi growled, scanning the fight with an expert squint. “But for right now, go help Mako, he's twisted his wrist and is fighting one handed.”

Kita rushed to do as she was told, even as Desna and Eska joined their ranks. Desna caught Kita's eye and gave her a fleeting smile. “I am so done with spirits,” he said, dispatching a large one with flying blades of ice.

“Me too,” Kita assured him as she rushed to Mako's side. Eska filled in the firebender's place while he was healed.

Even with the addition of the skilled waterbenders, the dark spirits still forced the group back. The creatures seemed to redouble their efforts, surging forward in greater numbers. Kita was forced to make a few attacks herself, though they were clumsy and not as powerful as she would have liked, she did manage to take down a spirit or two. She could no longer keep up with minor injuries like sprained wrists, and was forced to focus on the largest of wounds, and to huddle behind the person she was trying to heal as they continued to bend. This was healing as she had never attempted it, and her work would have made her master throw up her hands in despair.

Soon the group was pushed all the way into the hollow of the tree, struggling to keep the spirits from pouring inside. Even exuberant Bumi seemed to be running out of ideas. “Tenzin, keep your focus above you! Don't let them sneak in over our heads!”

The airbender swept himself into the air with a twirl like a leaf caught on an updraft, bending wildly to keep the hoard back. Mako, still holding the opening, was the last to be tossed backwards. Tenzin landed beside the young man, sending a blast of air into the enemy ranks.

Kita felt fear grip her as the doorway filled with too many spirits to keep away. Like swarming wasps they came, blotting out the light. Kita had her hands on Desna's shoulder, healing a badly bleeding gash, but she lost focus as the spirits surged in. She held her breath, ready to use her own body as a barrier between these creatures and the helpless avatar behind her. She felt Desna's muscles tighten as he readied to do the same. Around her her fellow benders struggled, flames, water and air surging. Bolin rushed to Kita's side, having run out of rocks to bend he instead stood with her, acting as another human shield for Korra. Kita glanced sideways at his face, to see the firm set of it in the fading light, and she felt her heart flutter. Too bad she was about to die and wouldn't get to kiss him again. She wondered if someone would survive to tell her father what had happened to her.

As a large, black spirit loomed above them, ready to strike them aside, Desna prepared to fend it off as best he could and Kita braced for pain. Instead there was an enormous whooshing sound from outside. Like a massive wave about to come to ground. Then white light exploded through the entrance of the tree, shattering and tearing the spirits away like bits of paper. Kita was knocked from her feet and completely blinded as the earth shuddered mightily. She felt someone grab her hand, knowing it must have been Bolin. She held on to him as hard as she could and kept her eyes tight shut. Even through her lids the light was too intense. Her temples throbbed.

After a moment of stillness the light subsided and Kita opened her eyes, blinking furiously. She saw the others struggling to their feet, standing unsteadily. She scanned them all for obvious wounds, but saw nothing life threatening. The cuts and bruises she would heal later. Tenzin was the first to make it to the entrance of the tree, peering out. “Korra?” he exhaled.

Kita scrambled to stand, aided by Bolin, who still clutched her hand. The two leaned against one another as they followed the airbender. Kita couldn’t help but gasp. Though she had seen this giant version of the avatar before, she was still floored by how impressive she looked. She stood, like a conquering hero, peering down at them. Then she opened her hands, which had been clasped before her, and freed two smaller objects. One was Raava, Kita realized, watching the elegant light spirit float gracefully through the air. The other was...

“Jinora!” Tenzin rushed forward. His beautiful, young daughter hovered, shrouded in an orb of light, before her parent.

“I'll see you soon, Dad,” the little girl said, smiling.

Tenzin reached towards her even as she vanished. Kita felt a tear prickle in her eye as the man slowly withdrew his hand, wrapping his arms around himself instead. Then he straightened, watching as the giant Korra dissolved into glittering dust, which flowed into the tree and returned to her body.

The group stood, waiting, as she emerged. Her face was set in a way that Kita had not seen it before. So triumphant, and yet calm. Like a soldier returning from a battle well won. She felt Bolin squeeze her hand, then let it go, only to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She leaned gratefully against him, and he against her, watching as the avatar stepped from the tree.

Raava, circled elegantly, like a great eagle, and Korra leaped nimbly to ride the spirit's tail into the sky, where they were rejoined as one in an explosion of white lighting. It made the hair Kita's arms stand up. When it was finished the portal no longer arched across the sky, but had once again become two portals, glowing subtly.

“An avatar spirit has returned,” said Tenzin, reverently as Korra returned to them on a breeze.

“It's over,” she said.

Kita stood back as the group rushed to embrace their leader. Mako threw his arms around Korra, kissing her on the cheek, “I don't even know what to say!”

“You were amazing,” Tenzin was smiling. Kita thought she liked his smile. It reminded her of her father's.

Bolin, bursting with energy again, exclaimed, “and the way you turned all gigantic like that! Wow! I just wish Varric had been here to film it! It would have been the greatest mover ever!”

“Other than the Nuk Tuk Chronicals,” Kita pointed out playfully.

Bolin looked back to her, eyes shining with a light Kita had thought she might not see again. “Of course,” he grinned.

Korra moved to speak with Desna and Eska. Kita knew that their father must have died in his battle with the avatar. Kita stood back again, not wanting to interfere. She watched as Bolin shared a moment with his brother. High-fiving and crowing over their victory. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Bumi was smiling at her. “You did really well back there.”

“So did you,” she gave him a wide smile, which he returned tenfold.

“You can't keep a good general down!” he said. A trilling sound caught their attention. Kita turned to see what appeared to be a dragonfly-rabbit, only it was glowing bright blue. It hovered eagerly over to Bumi, circling him before landing in his arms, making happy little noises.

“Friend of yours?” Kita asked.

“Bum-ju!” the man exclaimed, hugging the rabbit. “You're okay! I missed you, little buddy!”

Kita reached over and scratched the creature between its ear-wings. It butted its head against her hand appreciatively.

Kita's attention was distracted from the adorable animal by Tenzin and Korra moving together towards one of the portals. “What do you suppose they're talking about?” she asked.

Bumi shurgged. “Who knows. Important, just-saved-the-world, type stuff I guess. Better leave them alone.”

Suddenly Kita felt arms go around her waist and she was lifted into the air. She couldn't help it, she squealed with pleasure as Bolin twirled her around. Then he set her down and kissed her. Maybe it was Bolin. Maybe it was the fact that they had just survived the end of the world, but this was the best kiss Kita thought she had ever shared.

~~~~~

Bolin was following his brother. He had wanted to talk with Mako, but the firebender looked upset, so Bolin hung back. He suspected where Mako was headed. The watertribe palace stood, dark and intimidating, but Bolin knew Korra had gone inside to think. Perhaps to meditate on her decision to keep the portals open, allowing humans and spirit creatures to coexist.

The earthbender kept to the shadows. Normally he wasn't much for snooping, but this time curiosity got the better of him. Mako found Korra in the great hall. He walked up behind her. “Hey,” he spoke softly so his voice wouldn't echo off the vaulted ceiling. “Can we talk?”

“Of course,” she turned to him, smiling with genuine openness. Bolin felt the slightly twinge. Once he had thought her the most beautiful woman in the world. Did he still? Did part of him still want her? He watched his brother and the avatar's heart to heart. He admitted their breakup and she said that she did remember it after all. Bolin watched his brother's face darken with sadness as he and Korra decided that their relationship wouldn't be able to work. Bolin couldn't help but feel a little jealous. All his breakups had been so rough. Mako's was down right civil. She even gave him a sorrowful parting kiss before her hands slid from his and she walked away.

Bolin should have faded back into the shadows, but instead he moved towards his brother's defeated form. “You uh...you want a hug?” He didn't wait for an answer, instead throwing his arms around Mako's narrow shoulders.

Mako chuckled, allowing Bolin this display of brotherly affection. “I'm okay, Bo,” he said with a small, unconvincing chuckle. “Come on, let's get out of here. This place is really dreary.”

“Yeah,” Bolin agreed, freeing his sibling. “That was rough though, huh?”

“It was for the best...but yeah. It was rough.” Mako jammed his hands into his pockets as he walked. “But I don't want to talk about it. Let's talk about...you and Kita. You really like her huh?”

Bolin allowed his brother to change the subject, in no small part because he was exploding with eagerness to talk about his new favorite waterbender. “She's great! Better than great! She's...she's just...” words seemed to leave his brain and he gestured exuberantly. So much so that Mako couldn't help but smile for real this time. Bolin let his tone drop to a more sensible one. “To be honest with you, Mako, I think she likes me.”

“Of course she likes you. I thought that was pretty obvious.”

“No. I mean, she likes me. For me. Korra only went on a date because she felt sorry for me, and Ginger only paid attention once I was a hero. Don't even get me started on Eska and her issues. The thing is, I was beginning to think I would never find someone who just liked me. No other reason. And then, there was Kita. I guess she's just one of a kind.”

Mako threw his arm around Bolin's shoulder for a one-armed hug as they walked. “I'm really happy for you, bro. But what are you going to do once we head back to Republic City?”

“Well,” Bolin's shoulders sagged, “I was going to ask her to come with me, but her dad...he'll never be okay with it.”

“Did you ask them?”

“Well...no, but-”

“Go ask them,” Mako gave his brother a shove. “You just told me you found a one of a kind girl. You had better not let her slip away.”

Bolin considered for a moment, then squared his shoulders. “Yeah. You're right Mako! For once,” he gave the firebender a playful shove that almost sent him sprawling.

Mako laughed, keeping his balance and shoving back. “Go get her, lover boy!”

 

Bolin found Kita and her father at their shop. Or what was left of it. It had been vandalized. Some of the Northern soldiers, or maybe destructive dark spirits, had thought that it was good sport to smash every piece of pottery in the place. Bolin knocked on the door frame, as the door was missing all together. Smashed in by the vandals. Inside Torq stood from scooping up an armload of shattered art to place it in a waiting bin. “Hello, sir,” the earthbender's voice was small, shy even. “I'm really sorry about what happened to your store. Here,” Bolin widened his stance, then with a few careful sweeping motions of his arms he lifted all the shattered clay and guided it gently to the bin. 

Torq stood, staring at his guest with a confused and slightly impressed expression. “I imagine you're looking for my daughter,” he turned to shout towards the stairs.

“Actually,” Bolin raised a palm to stop him, “wanted to talk to you. See, I...uhm...I,”

“You really like my daughter,” Torq's lips twitched and Bolin could tell his was trying not to smile. The man folded his arms and leaned back against the front counter. “She told me how well you looked out for one another in the spirit world, and how she fought alongside the avatar and her team.”

“She did,” Bolin nodded, not feeling at all comforted by Torq's almost-smile because the man's blue eyes still held a dangerous venom. He looked like a scorpion-bee that couldn't decide if it wanted to sting. “She was great! Really helpful to the team...so I was wondering...would both of you like to come to Republic City with us?” This last part came out in a rush, as though he couldn't stop it. He took a step back, almost out the door again.

“YES!” Kita exploded from the stairway, rushing across the room and throwing her arms around Bolin. Prin the owl-bat flew around their heads, peeping with annoyance. Kita buried her face in Bolin's shoulder and for a moment he was lost in the bliss of that feeling. Then he looked up at Torq and flinched. It was pretty clear that it was all the man could do not to grab the nearest broom and beat Bolin away from his only child. Instead Torq heaved a heavy sigh. “Kita and I have already talked about this. We were not expecting you to invite us, but we had decided to move to the city. With everything so different in the world now-” he gestured to the window as a spirit floated by, seemingly in conversion with a young man, “-We...I realized that it was time for a change.”

“That, and all our merch got smashed,” Kita said, pulling back from her embrace, beaming from ear to ear. Bolin had never felt so happy. His heart felt like it was filled with light.

“That too,” Torq chuckled dryly. “But I think we might have gone anyway. I think it is time my daughter shared her gifts with more than just our village. Plus, I imagine there are shops in republic City.”

“There are!” Bolin said, “and I have yet to see one that sold authentic watertribe pottery!”

“Well, there you are,” Now Torq was no longer hiding his smile. Bolin noticed how to wrinkled the corner's of the man's eyes, and suited him far better than his usual scowl.

“I'm all finished packing, Daddy, but the ship doesn't leave for another hour,” Kita said, still with her arms wrapped around Bolin as though she might never intend to let go. “Can Bolin and I go to the park?”

“You're asking my permission?” Torq raised an eyebrow.

“It's a new world, remember?” Kita grinned, cheekily.

“Get out of here,” Torq waved his hand towards them as though he couldn’t stand another minute of watching his daughter with his arms around a man.

Kita bit her bottom lip, then giggled, grabbing Bolin's hand she darted out the door. The two of them ran, skipped, and snowball-fought their way to the park, laughing the whole time.

The end...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Well, there you are. The final chapter...for now. I have no idea if I will write more with Kita. I feel like I might, once the next season comes out, but who knows. :) Keep your eyes open for more in the future and have fun reading my other fics! This was never intended to be more than a one-shot and it's 60 pages long! This is what Bolin does to me ;) Hope you all enjoyed! I am planning to read this one aloud on youtube at some point too, so keep an eye on my page: https://www.youtube.com/user/JulianGreystoke ***


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